THE  SAILOR  WH( 
ENGLAND  FEARED 


THE  SAILOR  WHOM 
ENGLAND  FEARED 


THE    SAILOR  WHOM 
ENGLAND    FEARED 


BEING     THE     STORY     OF     PAUL     JONES,     SCOTCH 

NAVAL     ADVENTURER     AND     ADMIRAL      IN 

THE    AMERICAN    AND    RUSSIAN 

FLEETS 


BY 

M.  MAC  DERMOT  CRAWFORD 


AUTHOR    OF 
THE    WIFt:    OF    LAFAYETTE,"    ET:  . 


DUFFIELD    &    COMPANY 
NEW   YORK 


TO 

MY    MOTHER 


PREFACE 

AMONG  the  brilliant  adventurers  who  passed  meteor- 
like  across  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
no  name  is  better  known  than  that  of  the  famous 
Scotsman  John  Paul  Jones. 

In  response  to  his  ardent  plea  for  a  sailor's  life, 
he  was  apprenticed  and  sent  to  sea  at  the  age  of 
twelve  to  seek  his  fortune.  He  rose  rapidly,  unaided 
by  favour  or  influence,  and  at  nineteen  became  chief 
mate  of  a  slaver,  at  twenty-one  captain  of  a  West 
India  trading  vessel;  then  came  his  experience  as 
a  Virginia  planter.  At  twenty-eight  he  was  com 
missioned  lieutenant  in  the  American  Continental 
Navy,  at  twenty-nine  became  captain,  at  thirty-two 
commodore,  "  the  ocean  hero  of  the  Old  World  and 
the  New,"  spoiled,  adulated,  petted  by  great  and 
small.  Special  envoy  to  the  French  Court  at  thirty- 
six;  at  forty,  in  commemoration  of  the  victory  of  the 
Bonhomme  Richard  over  the  Serapis,  voted  a  gold 
medal  by  Congress ;  and  now  the  thread  of  life  shows 
its  first  sign  of  wearing.  ...  A  vice-admiral  in  the 
Navy  of  the  Russian  Empress  at  forty-three,  waiting 
for  the  last  brilliant  chapters  to  be  written;  at  forty- 
five  dead  ! 

At  heart  he  was  a  free-lance,  without  a  country, 
without  family;  he  had  his  brief  hour,  his  life  was  like 


280820 


vi  PREFACE 

"  the  stuff  that  dreams  are  made  of."  He  left  no  book 
of  his  hopes,  his  secrets,  for  us  to  pore  over.  Self- 
contained  being  that  he  was,  we  do  not  know  if  the 
mystery  of  his  parentage  ever  sorrowed  him.  He 
asked  nothing  from  the  world  but  fame  and  glory,  and 
these  he  may  justly  claim,  for  who  does  not — if  but  in 
a  vague  way — know  the  name  of  that  "  rebel," 
"corsair"  and  "  pirate,"  Paul  Jones? 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


To  face  page 

PAUL  JONES Frontispiece 

(From  a  miniature  painted  by  the  Comtessc  de  la  Vandhal) 

THE    HOUSE    DESCRIBED    AS    THE    BIRTHPLACE    OF    PAUL 

JONES 14 

PAUL  JONES 84 

(From  the  original  painting  on  parchment  by  Notte,  in  the  collection 
of  the  author} 

THE  DUCHESSE  DE  CHARTRES 120 

THE  FAMOUS  TEA-POT  (NOW  IN  THE  POSSESSION  OF  CAPTAIN 

JOHN  HOPE,  R.N.,  GREAT-GRANDSON  OF  LADY  SELKIRK)     138 

HELEN,  COUNTESS  OF  SELKIRK 144 

(From  an  unfinished  painting.     Reproduced  by  permission  oj  Captain 
John  Hope,  R.N.) 

FRONTISPIECE  FROM  A  CHAPBOOK  IN  THE  AUTHOR'S  COLLEC 
TION;  SHOWING  "PAUL  JONES  SHOOTING  LIEUTENANT 
GRUB  FOR  ENDEAVOURING  TO  LOWER  THE  AMERICAN 
FLAG" 178 

PAUL  JONES  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .210 

(From  the  terra-cotta  bust  by  Houdori] 

CAPTAIN  RICHARD  PEARSON 250 

PAUL  JONES 284 

(From  a  wax  medallion,  made  about  the  time  of  his  death,  and  now  in 
the  author's  collection) 

vii 


viii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

To  face  page 

PAUL  JONES  .  ....     340 

(From  a  wax  medallion  sent  by  Paul  Jones  to  Mrs.  Belches  in  1786. 
Reproduced  by  permission  of  the  Edinburgh  Antiquarian  Society} 

CATHERINE     II 

VIEW  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  MME.  DE  TELUSSON      .         .         .400 

(From  a  rare  print  in  the  authors  collection'} 


PAUL   JONES 

CHAPTER    I 
1747-1773 

FAR  more  romantic  than  the  swashbucklering 
adventures  of  imaginary  heroes  told  by  the  light  pen 
of  fiction  is  the  plain,  unvarnished  tale  of  John  Paul 
Jones,  who,  from  a  childhood  amid  the  humblest 
peasant  environment,  raised  himself  to  world-wide 
fame;  had  the  distinction  of  being  decorated  by 
empress  and  king ;  became  admiral  in  two  navies — and 
the  lover  of  a  princess. 

A  hint  of  mystery  attends  his  birth,  for  it  is  hard 
to  believe  him  to  have  been  the  son  of  John  Paul, 
gardener  to  Mr.  Craik  of  Arbigland,  in  the  parish  of 
Kirkbean,  nor  is  there  tangible  reason  for  the  assertion 
that  his  father  was  Captain  John  Maxwell,  governor 
of  the  Bahamas  in  1780,  or  the  Earl  of  Selkirk. 

The  parish  birth  records  do  not  solve  the  problem, 
but  rather  the  contrary,  for  they  record  the  births  of 
his  three  sisters  and  omit  any  mention  of  either  young 
John  Paul  or  his  elder  brother  William.  Though  the 
registration  of  births  was  not  compulsory  in  those 
days,  why  should  the  Pauls  have  recorded  the  girls 
and  not  the  boys?  Nor  does  it  seem  likely  that  the 

9 


•1C  PAUL   JONES 

gardener's  wife  could  have  been  absent  from  the  parish 
on  both  occasions  when  the  latter  were  born. 

In  accordance  with  the  maxim  that  "  it  is  better  to 
be  the  wife  of  a  coal-heaver  than  the  mistress  of  a 
prince,"  early  Victorian  writers  wax  indignant  at  any 
aspersions  cast  on  the  fair  fame  of  the  gardener's  wife. 
It  never  seems  to  have  occurred  to  them  that  John  Paul 
was  the  unwanted  child  of  some  amorous  dame,  who 
had  loved  beyond  discretion,  put  to  nurse  at  the 
gardener's;  for  Jean  Macduff  had  been  lady's-maid  to 
Mrs.  Craik,  and,  it  is  said,  in  those  halcyon  days 
ladies'-maids  were  discreet — sometimes.  Who  can 
tell  what  happened  in  that  tiny  thatched  cottage  in  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century? 

John  Paul,  the  gardener's  father,  kept  a  public- 
house,  or,  as  it  was  called  with  Scotch  niceness,  a 
"  mail  garden  "  in  Leith.  His  son  showed  no  aptitude 
for  the  business,  and  we  find  him  some  years  later  as 
gardener  to  Mr.  Craik,  where  he  remained  till  his  death 
in  1767.  "  A  gardener  was  understood  to  be  a  person 
of  better  education  than  a  common  operative  mechanic 
in  ordinary  handicrafts"  at  that  time,  and  John  Paul 
laid  out  the  gardens  at  Arbigland  with  some  taste  and 
skill,  combining  these  duties  with  the  office  of  bailiff 
and  gamekeeper,  which  was  not  unusual  on  small 
estates.  He  was  a  man  respected  by  those  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact,  following  his  unexciting  daily 
round  conscientiously,  but  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  his 
personality  with  that  of  the  dare-devil  fighting  sailor, 
who  has,  perhaps,  gained  more  renown  for  his  exploits 
than  any  hero  of  ancient  or  modern  times. 


PAUL   JONES  U: 

Soon  after  entering  Mr.  Craik's  service  he  married 
Jean  Macduff,  the  daughter  of  an  Argyll  Highlander, 
an  armourer  by  trade,  who,  since  coming  to  the  Low 
lands,  had  turned  farmer  near  New  Abbey.  These 
Macduffs  are  erroneously  described  as  small  landed 
proprietors  who  had  lived  in  the  parish  of  Kirkbean 
for  an  "immemorial  period";  but  what  of  this 
"respectable  rural  race"  before  they  had  tamed  their 
Highland  blood  to  plough  and  reaping-hook?  The 
name  of  Macduff  invokes  brawny  Highlanders,  flaunt 
ing  tartan,  dangling  sporran  and  the  clash  of  two- 
handed  sword  on  bull's-hide  iron-studded  shields; 
hoarse,  guttural  cries  of  men  who  fought  for  death  to 
their  opponent.  The  name  of  this  "  respectable  rural 
race  "  had  figured  across  the  pages  of  Scotch  history 
from  the  days  of  myth  and  legend;  been  glorified  by 
the  Bard  of  Avon's  pen,  and  followed  the  fiery  cross 
o'er  many  a  hill  and  dale.  They  rallied  to  royal  Stuart 
in  the  ill-fated  invasion  of  '45.  If  Jean  Macduff  was 
his  mother,  it  is  to  her  ancestors  he  owes  his  good  blood. 
John  Paul  was  born  on  July  6,  1747,  before  the  echoes 
of  the  "  pibroch,  savage  and  shrill "  had  ceased  to 
shriek  through  the  glens  of  Scotland.  His  mother 
—of  high  or  low  birth,  who  knows? — like  all  women, 
loved  Bonnie  Prince  Charlie;  and  her  heart  followed 
him  when  the  men-folk  flocked  to  the  standard  of 
their  rightful  sovereign.  John  Paul  was  born  while 
the  land  was  still  stirred  by  a  turmoil  of  loyalty  which 
no  rigorous  cruelties  had  ever  been  able  to  stamp  out. 
His  mother  thrilled  to  the  stern  memory  of  a  thousand 
years.  Such  were  the  prenatal  influences  of  John 


32  PAUL   JONES 

Paul,  destined  to  win  fame  under  the  name  of  a  chance 
benefactor. 

Throughout  his  life  he  displayed  marked  High 
land  characteristics,  being  sensitive  as  to  his  honour, 
quick  and  fiery ;  but  not  quarrelsome,  proud  to  a  fault 
without  being  arrogant.  If  some  of  his  letters,  written 
with  perfect  confidence  in  his  abilities,  are  open  to 
criticism,  it  is  admitted  that  Nelson's  epistles  do  not 
suffer  from  undue  modesty;  that  Drake  and  others, 
had  they  not  been  successful,  might  have  been  called 
braggarts.  Glory  and  ambition  gratified  were  the  sole 
rewards  asked  by  John  Paul  Jones,  who  fought  for 
this  end,  displaying  an  indifference  to  monetary  com 
pensation  which  is  generally  considered  the  prerogative 
of  the  nobly  born. 

William  Paul,  the  eldest  son  of  the  gardener  and 
his  wife,  emigrated  to  Virginia  and  died  at  Fredericks- 
burg  in  1772,  leaving  a  wife  and  considerable  fortune. 
There  were  three  other  children  :  Elizabeth,  the  eldest 
daughter,  died  unmarried;  the  second,  Janet,  married 
a  Mr.  Taylor,  watchmaker  in  Dumfries;  the  third 
married  twice,  first  Mr.  Young,  and  secondly  Mr. 
Lowden.  Her  name  was  Mary  Ann. 

There  was  nothing  in  all  these  pleasant,  common 
place  people  to  suggest  the  buccaneer  spirit  which 
caused  Paul  Jones,  years  later,  to  make  his  famous 
descent  on  the  Scotch  coast,  during  which  the  Selkirk 
plate  was  seized,  and,  after  endless  scandal  and  corre 
spondence,  returned  to  the  family  with  ample  explana 
tion  on  the  part  of  Jones,  who  bought  it  back  at  his 
own  expense  from  his  crew.  In  all,  John  Paul  and  his 


PAUL   JONES  13 

wife  had  seven  children,  if  one  includes  John  Paul 
Jones,  who  was  the  fifth.  The  two  born  after  him 
died  in  infancy. 

It  is  easy  to  picture  the  circumstances  of  his  early 
childhood.  The  unexciting,  steady  occupation  of  the 
gardener,  the  busy,  toil-worn  hands  of  Jean  Paul, 
whose  growing  family  and  household  drudgery  left 
her  no  time  except  for  the  most  practical  of  duties. 
From  the  early  hour  when  the  family  porridge  was 
vigorously  stirred,  to  the  end  of  the  lingering  twilight 
when  her  husband  came  home,  the  gardener's  wife 
had  enough  to  keep  her  fingers  out  of  the  mischief 
created  by  ennui,  had  she  known  the  meaning  of  the 
word. 

The  primitive  cottage  where  John  Paul  spent  his 
childhood  fell  into  ruin  some  years  after  his  death, 
in  which  condition  it  remained  until  rebuilt  by  the 
generosity  of  Lieut.  Pinkham,  U.S.N.,  in  1831;  and 
it  stands  at  the  present  time  under  the  shadow  of 
an  uncompromising  slate  roof,  in  place  of  the  thatch 
that  sheltered  the  young  sailor.  The  situation  was 
romantically  picturesque.  Far  above  the  shores 
of  the  Solway,  with  its  terrific  inrush  of  tide,  Mr. 
Craik's  house  occupied  a  site  commanding  splendid 
views  of  land  and  sea.  At  the  foot  of  the  promontory 
ran  the  river  Nith,  on  the  other  side  the  Esk  of 
Lochinvar  fame  flowed  into  the  Solway.  The  coast 
rose  sharply,  merging  into  a  granite  mountain,  Criftal 
by  name.  To  the  seaward  stretched  the  shores  of 
Cumberland,  with  the  peaks  of  Skiddaw,  Helvellyn 
and  the  Saddleback-  The  cottage,  overgrown  with 


14  PAUL   JONES 

creepers  and  sheltered  by  trees  and  shrubbery,  was 
never  free  from  the  sound  of  moving  waters. 

Little  John  displayed  small  partiality  for  the  games 
of  his  playmates.  His  passion  was  to  sail  a  leaf,  a  bit 
of  wood,  anything  resembling  a  boat — in  the  duck- 
pond,  on  the  horse-trough,  on  a  pool  of  rain  dripping 
from  the  roof — always  to  play  at  the  mimic  game  of 
ships.  On  occasions  he  eluded  the  family  and  headed 
for  the  seashore.  But  the  tides  of  the  Solway  were 
too  dangerous,  he  was  reproved  by  voice  and  hand, 
and  sternly  forbidden  to  go  there  alone.  As  the 
time  went  on,  and  he  grew  into  a  sturdy  lad,  his 
chief  delight  was  to  sail  in  the  fishermen's  boats,  as 
they  worked  the  sea  for  a  living.  What  he  dreamed, 
what  he  planned  as  he  watched  the  far  horizon,  no 
one  knows,  for  he  was  of  too  little  moment  for  any 
one  to  heed  him,  except  when  he  made  himself  useful 
in  casting  and  hauling  in  the  nets,  with  their  glittering, 
squirming  freight.  It  is  difficult  to  say  of  what  his 
early  education  consisted,  or  if  he  was  idle  or  industri 
ous.  Of  " pot-hooks  and  hangers"  he  must  have  had 
his  share,  also  the  rule  of  three;  and  he  could  read. 
Excessive  education  for  his  class  in  Scotland  of  the 
eighteenth  century  was  not  common.  He  could  write, 
and  his  letters,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  well  expressed 
and  showing  a  knowledge  of  grammar,  do  not  fall  into 
localisms,  or  the  plentiful  abbreviations  found  in  the 
correspondence  of  the  day. 

Like  all  the  children  on  Mr.  Craik's  estate,  he  was 
kindly  treated,  and  the  playmate  of  the  sons  of  the 
family.  With  the  democracy  of  boyhood,  they  joy- 


PAUL   JONES  15 

ously  climbed  everything  in  the  neighbourhood,  from 
trees  to  the  sides  of  cliffs,  where  lurked  unexplored 
treasures  in  the  shape  of  sea-birds'  eggs.  They 
penetrated  caves  and  caverns  under  the  cliffs  with 
that  sublime  disregard  of  tides  which  is  boyhood's 
happy  prerogative.  They  lingered  at  the  hearths  of 
old  Elspeth  and  Meg  Merrilies,  drinking  in  tales  of 
elf  and  goblin — too  frightened  to  go  home  in  the 
dusk,  till  the  servants  of  the  big  house  finally  hunted 
up  and  retrieved  them. 

But  life  was  not  all  play,  and  he  had  his  tasks,  which 
the  thrifty  Scotch  discipline  did  not  allow  to  be 
shirked.  From  the  first,  love  for  the  sea  was  so 
strongly  marked  that  Mr.  Craik  listened  to  his  argu 
ments,  and  advised  Paul  to  let  him  follow  the  only 
life  for  which  he  was  fitted.  He  had  no  wish  for  the 
total  destruction  of  his  peaceful  garden,  which  he 
foresaw,  should  young  John  Paul  be  forced  to  delve 
in  the  earth  for  a  living,  as  the  lad  knew  not  a  dock 
from  an  oak,  and  cared  less. 

Prompted  by  a  certain  self-interest,  the  good  laird 
did  his  best  to  smooth  the  path  of  the  impetuous  boy, 
and  the  die  was  cast.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  was 
apprenticed  to  "Mr.  Younger,  a  merchant  in  the 
American  trade,55  but  remained  for  some  time  before 
sailing  at  Whitehaven,  just  across  the  Firth  of  Solway, 
in  sight  of  his  home. 

There  is  a  story  to  the  effect  that  mere  chance 
caused  Mr.  Younger  to  take  young  John  Paul  in  his  ser 
vice.  Mr.  Younger,  one  of  the  most  enterprising  ship- 
owning  merchants  of  Whitehaven,  was  at  Arbigland 


16  PAUL   JONES 

in  the  summer  of  1759,  looking  for  sailors  to  man 
one  of  his  ships,  ready  to  sail  for  the  Chesapeake. 
There  was  a  high  wind  and  tremendous  sea,  and, 
attracted  by  a  knot  of  idlers,  he  stopped  to  see  what 
they  were  looking  at.  Out,  far  out,  bobbing  like  a 
cork,  struggled  a  small  boat,  striving  even  to  live, 
much  less  make  headway,  on  the  mountainous  waves. 
Buffeted  by  a  tearing  north-easterly  gale  as  she  tried 
to  reach  a  sheltered  cove,  even  the  stoutest-hearted 
fisherman  had  his  "  doots  "  that  the  little  craft  could 
live.  Make  the  shore  she  did,  or  there  would  have 
been  no  Paul  Jones  to  give  colour  to  the  book  of 
history.  The  lad  at  the  helm  was  the  future  com 
mander.  Intrepidly  he  clung  to  the  tiller,  shouting  his 
orders  above  the  howl  of  the  tempest,  his  black  hair 
streaming  in  the  wind,  his  eyes  snapping  with  excite 
ment,  every  fibre  of  him  glowing  with  the  fight  he 
waged  with  the  elements.  All  sense  of  fear  was  lack 
ing  in  his  heart,  and  he  brought  the  boat  to  shore  after 
he  had  been  resignedly  consigned  to  the  tender  care 
of  Davy  Jones  by  the  waiting  crowd,  who  clapped  the 
young  captain  on  the  back  as  he  hurried  home  to 
change  his  dripping  clothes,  and,  with  the  cocksure- 
ness  of  twelve,  planned  greater  achievements  to  be 
carried  out  when  he  was  "  grown  up." 

There  is  not  much  information  to  be  gleaned  about 
John  Paul  on  his  earlier  voyages;  life  before  the  mast 
in  1759  was  a  hard  routine,  not  calculated  to  foster 
idling  or  effeminacy,  and  he  began  at  the  foot  of  the 
ladder.  The  merchant  ship  plying  for  trade  was  not 
fitted  with  the  refinements  of  a  modern  hotel ;  after  a 


PAUL   JONES  17 

few  days  out  even  the  captain's  table  could  not  boast 
fresh  provisions,  and  long  voyages  almost  inevitably 
ended  with  scurvy  among  the  crew,  due  to  lack  of 
green  vegetables  and  an  overdose  of  brine.  Though 
the  menu  lacked  variety,  the  same  could  not  be  said 
of  the  names  of  the  dishes,  which  were  descriptive  and 
picturesque.  "  Salt  Junk  and  Pork"  and  "  Lobscouse" 
have  a  twang  of  the  sea;  "  Pillaus  of  Rice"  sounds 
oriental,  and  "Dog's  Body"  and  "Sea  Pies"  speak 
well  for  the  inventive  brain  of  Jack  afloat.  "  Pea 
coffee  "  explains  itself,  but  the  component  parts  of 
"  Hurryhush  "  are  not  so  easily  arrived  at. 

With  our  steam  and  wireless  to-day  it  is  hard  to 
realise  the  complete  isolation  formerly  the  seaman's 
lot.  Empires  might  rise  and  fall,  and  Jack  be  none 
the  wiser  until  he  touched  at  port,  or  spoke  some 
swifter  craft  within  hailing  distance  of  the  captain's 
brazen-throated  speaking-trumpet.  Often  becalmed 
for  days  at  a  time,  with  nothing  to  break  the  endless 
sameness  of  rolling  wave  and  nebulous  horizon,  the 
most  trifling  incident  furnished  endless  food  for  con 
versation.  Was  it  unnatural  under  these  conditions 
that  superstition  held  the  forecastle  in  its  tenacious 
thrall  when  the  thousands  of  weird,  unnamed  sounds, 
exaggerated  by  the  stillness  of  a  sailing  craft,  assumed 
alarming  proportions,  not  to  be  explained  away  or 
scoffed  at  by  a  mere  landsman  ?  The  incessant  moan 
ing  and  whistling  of  wind  through  the  rigging,  the 
unrelieved  monotony  day  after  day,  were  bound  to 
make  their  impression  on  the  strongest  nerves. 

In  time  of  war  the  constant  chance  of  meeting  or 


18  PAUL   JONES 

being  chased  by  the  enemy  constituted  an  ever-present 
excitement,  for  privateering  played  an  important  part 
in  the  life  of  nations,  being  a  recognised,  and  often 
well-requited,  form  of  gambling;  and  every  ship  was 
armed. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  John  Paul  escaped  the 
rough  horse-play  so  freely  indulged  in  aboard  ship; 
there  is  no  reason  to  assert  that  he  failed  to  enter  into 
it  with  all  the  hearty  enjoyment  of  the  normal  boy,  for 
he  was  not  in  the  least  a  prig,  though  he  tried  to  im 
prove  himself  by  study  whenever  the  chance  offered. 
Used  to  being  at  sea  from  the  time  he  could  walk, 
perhaps  he  was  untroubled  by  the  pangs  of  sea-sick 
ness,  and  the  remedy  urgently  advocated  by  his 
messmates— 

"Just  a  wee  drap  o'  saut  water, 
And  if   a  piece  o'  fat  pork,   after, 
Tied  in  a  string-  ye  tak'  and  swallow, 
Ye'll  find  that  mickle  change  will  follow"; 

and  did  not  listen  to  the  suggestion,  always  gravely 
offered,  that  the  sufferer  should  make  his  will,  which 
did  not  seem  amiss,  so  awful  were  the  pangs  of  that 
first  hour  when  the  novice  was  afraid  he  would  die— 
and  the  second,  when  he  was  afraid  he  would  not ! 

The  pranks  of  old  Father  Neptune  on  crossing  the 
equator  are  well  known,  but  that  of  sending  the  green 
horn  on  deck— 

"As  soon  as  ever  it  was  dark 
To  hear  the  little  dog-fish  bark," 

has  the  charm  of  novelty,  for,  while  the  youth  awaited 
this  interesting  exhibition  of  natural  history,  two  of 


PAUL   JONES  19 

his  shipmates,  perched  in  the  rigging,  drenched  him 
with  pails  of  salt  water,  jeering  at  the  spluttering 
victim,  who  refused  to  listen  to  their  consolation— 

"That  the  unsavoury  stew 
Was  only  what  the  grampus  blew." 

Had  Polonius  been  aboard  ship  he  would  have 
recoiled  aghast  at  the  total  disregard  of  his  much- 
quoted  advice,  for  borrowing  went  on  at  such  a  pace 
that  the  newly-arrived  "  griffin  "  disgustedly  found  his 
well-furnished  kit  a  hollow  mockery  and  himself  shirt 
less,  and  obliged  to  resort  to  the  elementary  manner 
of  his  comrades— 

"And  wash  his  shirt  in  the  pea-soup  kid  " 

the  latter,  despite  its  dark  and  evil  name,  being 
nothing  more  dreadful  than  a  small  wash-tub,  which, 
it  is  likely,  served  in  its  idle  hours  as  an  accessory  to 
the  batterie  de  cuisine.  The  threadbare  joke  of  put 
ting  salt  water  in  the  "  plum-duff  "  when  the  cook  was 
not  looking,  and  rewarding  that  luckless  wight  with 
a  lusty  whacking  from  the  "  Dog's  body  squeezer  " 
a  stick  used  to  stir  a  mixture  of  "squeezed  pease" 
known  by  the  illuminating  name  of  "  Soldier's  Joy  " 
was  a  source  of  perennial  mirth.  The  rough  pleasantry 
of  applying  a  hot  iron  to  an  undefended  portion  of 
a  person  engaged  in  performing  an  elaborate  toilet 
usually  resulted  in  a  free  fight,  lasting  until  stopped 
by  the  appearance  of  the  first  "luff." 

If  artists  and  writers  of  that  day  are  to  be  relied 
upon,  discipline  became  much  relaxed  as  soon  as 
the  anchor  was  let  go.  The  captain,  relieved  of 
responsibility,  had  his  own  affairs  to  occupy  him 

B  2 


20  PAUL   JONES 

ashore,  as  did  the  other  officers.  The  "  Little  Butter 
cups"  and  "Black-eyed  Susans"  were  not  shy  of 
swarming  over  the  side  as  soon  as  the  gangway  was 
lowered,  and  contemporary  prints  depict  joyous 
merry-makings,  with  no  puritanical  atmosphere  to  mar 
the  light-hearted  eighteenth-century  abandon  of 
costume  and  attitude,  in  which  there  is  more  than  a 
suggestion  of  revelry,  fast  and  furious.  These  visiting 
ladies  had  a  sly  habit  of  concealing  skins  filled 
with  rum  beneath  their  ample  petticoats,  and  carrying 
many  a  drink  to  their  "fancy  men";  but  this  being 
forbidden,  a  ship's  corporal  was  told  off  to  search  for 
the  contraband.  All  of  which  led  to  much  pleasantry 
in  the  rollicking  days  of  our  forefathers,  though  one 
cannot  but  wonder  what  effect  it  had  on  the  morals  of 
the  rising  generation. 

Undeniably  life  at  sea  had  a  broadening  influence, 
and  a  sailor  returned  very  much  more  the  man  of 
the  world  than  his  stop-at-home  brother.  He 
gathered  on  these  voyages  a  store  of  extensive  and 
varied  information  relating  to  the  many  feminine  types 
found  under  tropic  as  well  as  northern  skies;  and 
having  been  in  localities  never  before  penetrated  by 
the  ubiquitous  white  man,  could  yarn  uncontradicted, 
unchallenged  in  his  Munchausen-like  proclivities.  It 
had  its  advantages.  Nevertheless,  there  was  a  rope's- 
end  and  tarry  smell,  a  smack  o'  the  sea  clinging  to  the 
sons  of  Neptune  in  those  days,  which,  like  most  things, 
is  fast  disappearing.  The  modern  steam-driven  craft 
can  never  be  surrounded  by  the  romance  of  the  full- 
rigged  man-o'-war  scudding  down  the  Channel  before 


PAUL   JONES  21 

a  spanking  breeze  with  her  bright  work  glittering  and 
crew  thirsting  to  man  the  guns  and  fire  a  broadside 
at  the  interloping  "  Frenchie,"  or  who  might  be  the 
foe  of  the  hour.  The  only  repining  heart  was  that  of 
the  midshipmite,  parted  for  the  first  time  from  a 
loving  mother,  and  bravely  resisting  a  desire  to  yield 
to  that  unknown  emotion,  due  to  the  nervous  motions 
of  the  good  ship,  on  which  at  this  moment  he  was, 
despite  the  smart  new  uniform,  dubbed  by  his  mates 
that  dreadful  thing,  a  landlubber. 

Paul  was  an  attractive  lad,  high-spirited,  frank, 
quick  to  anger  at  injustice,  open  and  honourable,  and 
keenly  eager  to  master  every  detail  pertaining  to  the 
life  he  had  chosen.  He  devoured  what  books  he 
could  get  bearing  on  naval  history,  and  pored  over 
the  lives  of  the  great  commanders  whom,  some  day, 
he  hoped  to  emulate.  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  sailed 
from  Whitehaven,  watched  by  the  anxious  eyes  of  his 
sisters. 

The  strange  destiny  which  wove  his  life  under  the 
spell  of  the  Three  Sisters  sent  him  to  America.  It  was 
his  maiden  voyage ;  he  was  a  Scotch  boy  with  no  experi 
ence  of  life,  and  went  there  with  a  mind  as  wax  to 
receive  those  impressions  which  ultimately  caused 
him  to  play  his  brilliant  part  in  the  world.  His  ship, 
the  Friendship,  Captain  Benson,  dropped  anchor  in 
the  Rappahannock,  and  young  Paul  made  his  first 
acquaintance  with  the  society  of  the  new  world  as 
found  in  Virginia,  the  home  of  the  revolution.  While 
there  he  stayed  with  his  brother  William,  who  had 
been  adopted  by  a  gentleman,  said  to  be  a  connection 


22  PAUL   JONES 

of  his  mother,  provided  he  took  his  name,  Jones.  This 
he  did,  and  Mr.  Jones  offered  to  buy  the  younger 
brother  free  from  his  indentures  if  he  would  remain 
with  him  and  become  a  planter.  But  the  call  of  the 
sea  was  too  strong,  and  John  Paul  was  loyal  to  the 
roving  life  he  had  chosen.  The  property  left  to 
William  was  to  come  to  him  later,  as  William  died 
intestate  without  heirs,  and  his  widow  was  provided 
for;  so  in  1773  Paul  inherited  the  plantation,  cattle, 
buildings,  live  stock  and  slaves.  There  was  the  simple 
stipulation  that  he  assumed  the  name  of  Jones,  which 
is  the  reason  for  this  much-discussed  action. 

There  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  Paul  was  from 
the  first  one  at  heart  with  the  discontented  colonists. 
Why  not?  They  were  his  countrymen,  not  aliens, 
and  they  were  under  the  rule  of  a  king  against  whom 
his  people  had  fought.  His  sturdy  Highland  blood 
and  his  fighting  temperament  made  him  ready,  at  a 
word,  to  throw  himself  heart  and  soul  into  their  cause ; 
but  the  hour  had  not  struck,  and  he  sailed  away,  his 
brain  teeming  with  new  ideas. 

His  voyages  now  were  mainly  to  and  from  the  West 
Indies,  and  his  rise  in  the  merchant  service  rapid. 
At  the  age  of  sixteen  his  indentures  were  returned  to 
him  by  Mr.  Younger  on  his  retirement  from  business, 
and  young  Paul,  a  lad  of  sixteen,  and  his  own  master, 
solicited  and  obtained  the  appointment  of  third  mate 
on  the  King  George  of  Whitehaven,  a  vessel  engaged 
in  the  slave  trade. 

*  The  licence  to  act  for  himself  would  have  been, 
to  a  boy  whose  purposes  of  living  were  not  in  some 


PAUL   JONES  23 

measure  fixed,  and  whose  will  was  undecided  as  to 
the  future,  a  passport  to  obscurity,  and  if  not  to  dis 
grace.  In  Paul's  case  it  was  sumpta  prudenter.  He 
availed  himself  of  it,  wisely  having  confidence  in 
himself." 

After  some  time  aboard  the  King  George,  in  1766 
he  went  to  the  brigantine  Two  Friends  of  Kingston, 
Jamaica,  as  chief  mate.  Paul  was  at  this  moment 
nineteen  years  old,  and  known  as  a  sharp  and  resource 
ful  seaman,  equal  to  the  emergency.  He  is  said  to 
have  disliked  the  slave  trade,  but  from  1766,  when  he 
shipped  as  chief  mate  on  the  Two  Friends,  he  must 
have  remained  until  1771,  according  to  the  following 
item  dated— 

"  Dantzic,  Nov.  1 1.  A  week  ago  a  meffenger  from 
Peterfburg  going  through  Copenhagen,  brought  advice 
that  an  account  had  been  received  at  the  former  place, 
that  a  fhip  called  the  Two  Brothers  [Two  Friends?'], 
Capt.  John  Paul,  laden  with  wollen  and  thread  goods, 
had  failed  from  Smyrna,  infected  with  the  plague. 
This  advice  was  immediately  notified  to  all  the  ports 
of  the  Baltic,  that  they  may  avoid  receiving  that  fhip, 
and  all  the  neceffary  precautions  are  taken  to  keep 
her  off  if  fhe  appears." 

If  this  is  correct,  allowing  for  an  error  in  name,  it 
appears  that  the  Two  Friends  traded  in  other  than 
human  goods  and  chattels,  and  is  also  interesting,  as 
Paul's  relatives  declare  he  "  became  so  disgusted  with 
the  business  of  stealing  human  beings,  that  he  left 


24  PAUL   JONES 

the  ship  on  its  arrival  in  the  West  Indies."  This 
would  be  three  years  before  the  Two  Brothers  was 
sighted  off  Copenhagen.  According  to  their  story, 
after  leaving  the  Two  Friends  in  disgust,  he  took 
passage  in  the  brigantine  John,  of  Kirkcudbright, 
Capt.  Macadam,  and,  both  the  captain  and  mate  dying 
of  fever,  brought  the  ship  home,  for  which  the  owners, 
Currie,  Beck  &  Co.,  immediately  made  him  master  and 
supercargo.  Paul's  first  seriously  unpleasant  experi 
ence  happened  on  one  of  the  early  voyages  in  this 
ship. 

Of  course  his  good  fortune  and  rapid  rise  in  the 
world  had  made  enemies  for  him,  and  these  seized  on 
the  story,  spread  to  his  detriment,  with  the  greatest 
avidity,  causing  him  much  annoyance  and  unhappi- 
ness;  for,  it  must  be  remembered,  in  years  he  was 
little  more  than  a  boy.  An  insubordinate  carpenter 
named  Mungo  Maxwell  being  flogged,  as  was  the 
custom  in  the  merchant  service,  complained  to  the 
authorities  "  that  his  back  was  sore,  and  that  his  feel 
ings  were  hurt;  both  of  which  representations  they 
seem  to  have  believed,  without  feeling  themselves 
called  upon  to  heal  the  one,  or  soothe  the  other."  The 
sworn  statements  of  the  governor  of  Tobago  are,  in 
themselves,  enough  to  refute  the  calumny  that  the 
man  was  beaten  in  such  a  manner  as  to  cause  his  death. 
If  this  was  not  enough— 

"James  Eastment,  mariner,  and  late  master  of  the 
Barcelona  packet,  maketh  oath,  and  saith,  That 
Mungo  Maxwell,  formerly  on  board  the  John,  Captain 


PAUL   JONES  25 

Paul  master,  came  in  good  health  on  his,  the  depo 
nent's,  said  vessel,  then  lying  in  great  Rockley  Bay,  in 
the  Island  of  Tobago,  about  the  middle  of  the  month 
of  June,  in  the  year  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
seventy,  in  the  capacity  of  a  carpenter  aforesaid;  that 
he  acted  as  such  in  every  respect  in  perfect  health 
.  .  .  after  which  he  was  taken  ill  of  a  fever  and  low- 
ness  of  spirits,  which  continued  for  four  or  five  days, 
when  he  died  aboard  the  said  vessel  during  her 
passage  from  Tobago  to  Antigua.  And  this  deponent 
further  saith,  that  he  never  heard  the  said  Mungo 
Maxwell  complain  of  having  received  any  ill  usage 
from  the  said  Captain  John  Paul,  but  that  he  ... 
verily  believes  the  said  Mungo  Maxwell's  death  was 
occasioned  by  a  fever  and  lowness  of  spirits,  as  afore 
said,  and  not  by  or  through  any  other  cause  or  causes 
whatsoever." 

This  was  sworn  at  the  Mansion  House,  January 
30,  1773,  "before  me,  James  Townsend,  Mayor,"  and 
duly  signed  by  the  master  on  whose  ship  Maxwell 
died,  John  Eastment. 

Like  a  snowball  this  ridiculous  story  grew,  to  crop 
up  at  intervals  during  Paul  Jones's  career;  revived  in 
the  days  when  he  was  rear-admiral  in  the  Russian 
navy,  with  Prince  Potemkin  and  Prince  de  Nassau 
racing  him  neck  to  neck  for  Imperial  favour.  This 
time,  however,  the  supposed  victim  was  a  nephew, 
tortured  to  death  with  ingenious  cruelty.  It  would 
be  most  interesting,  even  after  so  long,  to  know  how 
such  a  story  was  kept  alive,  and  by  whom;  for  why, 


26  PAUL   JONES 

in  those  days  when  flogging  was  a  recognised  part  of 
the  naval  code,  did  the  case  stir  up  such  a  hornet's 
nest?  Just  then  John  Paul  was  by  no  means  the  con 
spicuous  personality  he  became  later.  He  was  an 
obscure  skipper  on  a  small  vessel,  so  unimportant  that 
it  is  a  wonder  the  incident  ever  saw  the  light  of  day. 
Without  doubt  we  must  put  it  to  the  account  of  that 
hardy  perennial,  the  busybody,  who  flourished  as  gaily 
then  as  now.  But  it  was  a  dastardly  way  to  try  and 
spoil  his  career,  and  worried  him  greatly,  as  this  letter 
to  his  mother  shows— 

"  London^  2^th  September,  1772. 

"  MY  DEAR  MOTHER  AND  SISTERS, 

:£  I  only  arrived  here  to-night  from  the 
Grenadas.  I  have  had  but  poor  health  during  the 
voyage;  and  my  success  in  it  not  having  equalled  my 
first  sanguine  expectations  has  added  much  to  the 
asperity  of  my  misfortunes,  and,  I  am  well  assured, 
was  the  cause  of  my  loss  of  health.  I  am  now,  how 
ever,  better,  and  I  trust  Providence  will  soon  put  me 
in  a  way  to  get  bread,  and  (which  is  by  far  my  greatest 
happiness)  be  serviceable  to  my  poor  but  much-valued 
friends.  I  am  able  to  give  you  no  account  of  my 
future  proceedings,  as  they  depend  upon  circumstances 
which  are  not  fully  determined. 

"  I  have  enclosed  you  a  copy  of  an  affidavit  made 
before  Governor  Young  by  the  Judge  of  the  Court  of 
Vice-Admiralty  of  Tobago,  by  which  you  will  see  with 
how  little  reason  my  life  has  been  thirsted  after,  and, 
which  is  much  dearer  to  me,  my  honour,  by  maliciously 


PAUL   JONES  27 

loading  my  fair  character  with  obloquy  and  vile  asper 
sions.  I  believe  there  are  few  who  are  hard-hearted 
enough  to  think  I  have  not  long  since  given  the  world 
every  satisfaction  in  my  power,  being  conscious  of  my 
innocence  before  Heaven,  who  will  one  day  judge 
even  my  judges.  I  staked  my  honour,  life,  and  fortune 
for  six  long  months  on  the  verdict  of  a  British 
jury,  notwithstanding  I  was  sensible  of  the  general 
prejudices  which  ran  against  me;  but,  after  all,  none  of 
my  accusers  had  the  courage  to  confront  me.  Yet  I 
am  willing  to  convince  the  world,  if  reason  and  facts 
will  do  it,  that  they  have  had  no  foundation  for  their 
harsh  treatment.  I  mean  to  send  to  Mr.  Craik  a  copy 
properly  proved,  as  his  nice  feelings  will  not  perhaps 
be  otherwise  satisfied ;  in  the  meantime,  if  you  please, 
you  may  show  him  the  enclosed.  His  ungracious  con 
duct  to  me  before  I  left  Scotland  I  have  not  yet  been 
able  to  get  the  better  of.  Every  person  of  feeling 
must  think  meanly  of  adding  to  the  load  of  the 
afflicted.  It  is  true  I  bore  it  with  seeming  unconcern, 
but  Heaven  can  witness  for  me  that  I  suffered  the 
more  on  that  very  account.  .  .  ." 

The  "  ungracious  conduct "  of  which  he  accuses 
Mr.  Craik  was  that  gentleman's  attitude  in  the  Max- 
welL  case.  Although  it  was  cleared  up,  and  Paul 
proved  blameless,  and  exonerated  by  Mr.  Craik,  he 
never  afterwards  corresponded  with  or  met  him.  This 
was  purely  the  result  of  circumstances ;  indeed,  after 
1771  he  never  saw  his  mother  and  sisters. 

Paul   has  been   accused  of   smuggling,   and  some 


28  PAUL   JONES 

contemporary  tales  of  his  exploits  teem  with  thrillingly 
unreliable  details.  This  accusation  was  one  he  always 
denied  hotly,  and  there  is  no  foundation  for  the  asser 
tion  that  the  first  entry  in  the  customs  books  of  the  Isle 
of  Man,  after  "that  nest  of  smugglers  and  centre  of 
the  contraband  trade  was  sold  to  the  Crown,  stands 
in  his  name  at  Douglas." 

But  his  career  in  the  Merchant  Marine  was  soon  to 
end.  In  1772  he  obtained  command  of  the  Betsy  of 
London,  a  ship  trading  with  the  West  Indies.  He 
was  successful  in  saving  a  considerable  sum  of  money, 
and,  in  1773,  went  to  Virginia  to  settle  his  brother's 
estate.  Thus  Fate  for  the  time  turned  John  Paul  into 
a  Virginia  planter,  a  character  about  which  there 
clings  still  a  halo  of  romance,  nankeen  trousers,  lavish 
hospitality,  and  a  semi-tropical  charm  difficult  to 
describe. 


CHAPTER    II 

1773-1775 

FROM  the  year  1773,  in  which  John  Paul,  or  as  he 
must  now  be  called,  John  Paul  Jones,  came  to 
America  to  settle  his  brother's  estate,  may  definitely 
be  dated  the  beginning  of  the  discontented  colonists' 
grievances.  With  the  increase  of  wealth  and  power 
during  the  last  hundred  and  fifty  years  came  growing 
intolerance  of  laws  foisted  on  them  by  legislators  who 
knew  nothing  of  their  conditions,  and  there  was  an 
awakening  of  that  love  of  independence  which  had 
driven  so  many  to  the  new  country.  Virginia  was 
rent  by  two  antagonistic  political  parties  :  the  "  Tide 
water  Aristocracy,"  consisting  of  planters  whose 
plantations  lay  along  the  York  and  James  River, 
who,  by  right  of  prior  arrival,  ruled  arbitrarily  in 
matters  social  and  political,  and  the  Scotch-Irish, 
who  settled  the  valley  of  Virginia.  These  hardy 
beings  pioneered  their  way  up  country  into  the  districts 
belonging  to  the  Rappahannock  Indians,  on  whose 
lands  they  unconcernedly  established  themselves, 
with  the  natural  consequence  of  years  of  Indian 
warfare  in  all  its  cunning  and  ferocious  phases,  during 
which  the  small  farmers  and  planters  were  harassed 
to  the  verge  of  distraction.  One  of  the  principal 
grievances  the  masses  registered  against  the 
"  Oligarchy  "  —  as  they  called  the  governor  and  House 


30  PAUL   JONES 

of  Burgesses — was  the  inactivity  displayed  in  taking 
measures  to  punish  the  Indians  for  their  depredations, 
and  it  was  more  than  whispered  the  governor's  inaction 
was  due  to  the  very  lucrative  trade  he  drove  in  pelts 
and  furs,  which  would  have  been  interrupted  had  he 
commenced  hostilities  against  his  savage  merchants. 
But  when  troops  were  wanted  by  the  "Tidewater" 
faction,  they  were  recruited  from  the  Scotch-Irish, 
who,  though  they  loved  fighting,  after  a  time  began 
to  tire  of  this  "more  kicks  than  halfpence"  kind  of 
warfare,  and  protested  at  all  the  plums  being  pounced 
on  by  the  other  party.  Like  so  many  colonial  posses 
sions,  Virginia  suffered  from  absenteeism,  Sir  Godfrey 
Amherst,  the  governor  who  controlled  her  destinies 
from  1763  till  1768,  never  even  playing  the  farce  of 
going  to  his  domain.  The  governors  did  not  interfere 
with  their  underlings,  provided  the  perquisites  of  their 
office  were  forthcoming,  the  king  knew  less  of  his 
colony  than  the  governor,  and  there  was  a  great  deal 
going  on  easy  to  describe  in  one  essentially  modern 
word — graft. 

The  great  wealth  of  Virginia  was  in  the  tobacco- 
producing  lands,  which  the  ignorant  colonist  ex 
hausted  by  planting  tobacco  year  after  year  in 
succession,  instead  of  alternating  it  with  maize  or 
corn,  and  in  the  end  he  lost  heavily  by  his  thriftless- 
ness.  The  best  houses  were  brick  and  stone,  brought 
from  England  with  the  workmen  to  build  and  decorate 
them.  All  the  furnishings  came  from  over  the  seas, 
and  many  a  bit  of  rare  silver  and  family  portraits 
ended  their  days  in  this  strange  new  land.  There 


PAUL   JONES  31 

were  abrupt  contrasts  of  primitiveness  and  civilisation 
afforded  by  glimpses  of  those  gaudy,  cumbersome 
coaches,  creaking  and  swaying  on  their  leather 
springs,  and  filled  with  gorgeously  habited  beauty, 
driving  on  the  rough  sandy  tracks,  called  by  courtesy 
roads,  of  that  unexplored  country.  My  lady  never 
took  her  airings  unaccompanied  by  a  train  of  slaves, 
and  armed  white  men  closed  up  the  rear  of  the  cortege, 
which  finally  disappeared,  Cinderella-like,  in  a  cloud 
of  dust. 

There  remained  but  few  Indians  in  this  part  of 
Virginia,  but  the  Virginia  gentleman  was  never  found 
without  his  ready  pistol,  and,  on  occasions  of  cere 
mony,  his  sword.  Those  who  governed  Virginia 
enjoyed  themselves,  there  is  no  doubt  of  that;  they 
were,  of  course,  exiled  from  home,  but  in  many 
instances  at  home  they  would  have  been  nobodies, 
and  here  they  were  cocks-of-the-walk.  Colonial 
society  then,  as  to-day,  boasted  many  undesirables 
sent  as  far  from  home  as  possible  by  their  thoughtful 
relatives,  hoping  to  replenish  the  family  exchequer 
with  the  dowry  of  some  fair  colonial,  who,  of  course, 
was  awaiting  just  such  a  brilliant  opportunity!  The 
social  lines  were  drawn  with  a  rigidity  allowing  no 
stretch,  and  what  equality  there  may  have  been  among 
the  first  settlers  had  long  ago  faded  into  obscurity 
so  dense  that  not  a  tradition  remained.  There  was 
no  common  property  and  no  common  interest.  The 
wines,  sweetmeats  and  a  thousand  small  refinements 
came  from  England  or  France,  as  did  the  red-heeled 
shoes  of  my  lord  and  the  powder  patches  and  lappets 


32  PAUL   JONES 

of  my  lady.  How  eagerly  the  belle  counted  on  her 
taper  fingers  the  days  which  must  elapse  before  the 
Nancy  and  her  treasure-trove  hove  in  sight;  how 
fervently  she  prayed  that  her  new  "  gownd  "  would 
come  in  time  to  end  for  ever  the  aspirations  of  her 
bosom  friend  and  hated  rival  to  outshine  her  as  a 
woman  of  fashion.  To  be  sure,  Papa  "poo-poo'd" 
and  "  tush-tush'd  "  at  the  nonsense  of  girls  and  their 
fal-lals,  but  a  sly  suggestion  that  his  fine  old  Madeira, 
which  had  already  twice  doubled  the  Cape,  was  in 
voiced  in  the  same  tardy  vessel,  bestirred  Papa  to 
the  point  of  commanding  a  look-out  to  be  kept  for 
the  good  ship  Nancy,  and  the  instant  landing  of  the 
goods  consigned  to  his  distinguished  family. 

The  plantation  which  Jones  inherited  was  not,  as 
counted  in  tidewater  Virginia,  large,  comprising  about 
"  three  thousand  acres  of  prime  land,  bordering  for 
twelve  furlongs  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rappa- 
hannock,  running  back  southward  three  miles,  1000 
acres  cleared  and  under  plough  or  grass,  2000  acres 
strong,  first-growth  timber,  grist  mill  with  flour  cloth 
and  fans  turned  by  water  power;  mansion,  overseer's 
house,  negro  quarters,  stables,  tobacco  houses,  thresh 
ing-floor,  river  wharf,  one  sloop  of  twenty  tons,  thirty 
negroes  of  all  ages  (18  adults),  20  horses  and  colts, 
80  neat  cattle  and  calves,  sundry  sheep  and  swine, 
and  all  necessary  means  of  tilling  the  soil." 

With  the  property  came  the  legacy  of  old  Duncan 
Macbean,  whom  his  brother,  when  serving  with  the 
:<  Virginia  Provincials,"  saved  after  Braddock's  rout 
by  the  French  and  Indians,  brought  home  and  nursed 


PAUL   JONES  83 

through  his  wounds,  and  kept  in  his  service.  Duncan 
was  a  typical  thrifty  Scotchman,  with  a  canny  eye 
open  in  the  interests  of  his  master,  not  having  any 
sympathy  with  the  wasteful  fashion  in  which  "  sax- 
pences  "  went  "  bang  "  in  this  heathenish  land.  Jones 
was  too  good  a  disciplinarian  not  to  appreciate  the 
trait  in  another,  so  Duncan  was  left  supreme  in  his 
management,  and  the  plantation  waxed  fat  and  throve 
apace. 

It  is  not  easy  to  reconcile  the  varying  statements 
of  this  part  of  Paul  Jones's  life.  On  the  4th  of  May, 
1777,  he  wrote  from  Boston  to  Mr.  Stuart  Mawey 
of  Tobago — 

"After  an  unprofitable  suspense  of  twenty  months 
(having  subsisted  on  fifty  pounds  only  during  that 
time),  when  my  hopes  of  relief  were  entirely  cut  off, 
and  there  remained  no  possibility  of  my  receiving 
wherewithal  to  subsist  upon  from  my  effects  in  your 
island,  or  in  England,  I  at  last  had  recourse  to 
strangers  for  that  aid  and  comfort  which  was  denied 
me  by  those  friends  whom  I  had  intrusted  with  my 
all." 

Was  Jones,  in  truth,  without  money?  By  his  own 
showing  in  1777  he  had  a  considerable  sum  derived 
from  the  plantation,  which  he  constantly  drew  on  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  his  crews  and  maintenance.  Or 
does  he  refer  to  the  destruction  of  his  property  follow 
ing  the  bombardment  of  Norfolk  by  the  Earl  of 
Dunmore,  January  i,  1776,  or  to  the  non-receipt  of 
drafts  from  his  agents  in  the  West  Indies;  as  the 
declaration  of  war  had  made  communication  by  sea 


34  PAUL   JONES 

precarious  and  uncertain?  Otherwise  it  is  impossible 
to  account  for  the  state  of  abject  poverty  in  which 
he  was  supposed  to  exist.  There  was  no  evidence  of 
this  when  he  was  in  Virginia,  for  he  entertained  his 
friends  on  every  available  opportunity,  travelled, 
moved  in  the  first  rank  of  colonial  society,  went  to 
Fredericksburg  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  and  in  all  ways  took  a  prominent  part 
in  the  life  of  the  colony,  being  a  great  favourite  with 
the  ladies,  and  is  accused  of  evincing  a  partiality  for 
the  society  of  one  Mistress  Betty  Parke,  a  relative 
of  the  much  buckramed,  whaleboned  lady,  who  kept 
the  character  of  the  immortal  George  in  such  good 
order.  But  Jones  had  other  ambitions,  and  Mistress 
Betty  bestowed  her  hand  and  self  on  some  one 
by  the  name  of  Tyler,  while  her  quondam  admirer 
was  busy  with  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the 
infant  United  States  Navy  and  with  contemporary 
politics. 

How  natural  it  would  have  been  could  Paul  have 
accepted  the  windfall  fate  had  sent  him,  lived  the  life 
of  a  planter,  married  and  disappeared  from  sight  in 
this  pleasant  dolce  far  niente  drifting.  Slaves  antici 
pated  every  wish,  the  planter  rode  leisurely  over  his 
broad  acres  in  the  early  day,  before  the  sun  had 
become  unbearable;  if  he  would  fish,  there  was  the 
river;  if  he  preferred  oysters,  the  most  succulent  were, 
in  very  truth,  at  his  door.  The  surrounding  forests 
concealed  game  in  profusion,  and  the  low  sandy 
marshes  around  Urbana  abounded  in  snipe,  so  "  that 
it  would  hardly  be  possible  to  fire  a  gun  in  a  horizontal 


PAUL   JONES  35 

position  and  not  kill  many  at  one  shot."  There  were 
terrible  and  frequent  devastating  fires  in  the  dense 
forests,  caused  by  the  careless  settlers  burning  the 
brush  when  clearing  land  for  cultivation.  Their 
practice  of  cutting  great  gashes  in  the  pine  trees,  and 
placing  troughs  under  them  to  catch  the  resinous 
matter  which  flowed  from  the  wound,  and  then  aban 
doning  the  tree  to  decay,  filled  the  country  with  dead 
wood  that  caught  like  tinder  at  the  first  opportunity. 
Deep  in  the  gloom  of  these  forests  flowed  streams 
of  the  coldest  clear  water,  first  trickling  into  tiny 
pools  and  lakes,  gurgling  their  way  over  moss-green 
stones  to  end  in  dashing  waterfalls,  turning  the  mills 
to  grind  corn  and  saw  wood. 

Would  Paul  have  preferred  the  life  of  "  calm  con 
templation  and  poetic  ease"  to  which  he  alludes  in 
his  famous  letter  to  the  Countess  of  Selkirk?  Was 
he  in  earnest  when  he  wrote,  "  I  have  sacrificed,  not 
only  my  favourite  scheme  of  life,  but  the  softer 
inclinations  of  the  heart,  and  the  prospect  of  domestic 
happiness."  Is  it,  indeed,  in  this  period  of  his  career 
that  we  should  cherchez  la  femme  ?  Many  a  pair  of 
bright  eyes  peeped  at  him  from  beneath  those  bonnets 
which  "  disfigure  the  wearer  amazingly,  being  made 
with  a  caul  fitting  close  on  the  back  part  of  the  head, 
and  a  front  stiffened  with  small  pieces  of  cane,  which 
project  nearly  two  feet  from  the  head  in  a  horizontal 
direction.  To  look  at  a  person  at  one  side,  it  is 
necessary  for  a  woman  wearing  a  bonnet  of  this  kind 
to  turn  her  whole  body  around." 

But  the  star  which  dominated   Paul's  life  called 

C  2 


36  PAUL   JONES 

him  to  play  his  part  among  men,  called  him  to 
abandon  for  ever  that  peace  for  which  in  his  turbulent 
destiny  there  was  no  place.  Unconsciously  his  was 
to  be  the  hand  to  fire  a  train  ending  in  an  explosion 
heard  all  over  the  country.  In  1774  Jones,  returning 
from  Edmonton,  stopped  over  in  Norfolk  to  visit 
some  friends.  Several  British  ships  lay  at  anchor  in 
the  harbour,  and  the  hospitable  colonists,  wishing  to 
show  their  loyalty  and  friendliness  to  his  Majesty's 
representatives,  entertained  the  officers  at  a  ball.  The 
next  day  Jones  wrote  to  his  constant  correspondent, 
Joseph  Hewes — 

"  The  insolence  of  these  young  officers,  particularly 
when  they  had  gotten  somewhat  in  their  cups,  was 
intolerable,  and  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  they 
represented  the  feeling  of  their  service  generally.  As 
you  may  hear  imperfect  versions  of  an  affair  brought 
on  by  the  insolence  of  one  of  them,  I  will  take  the 
liberty  of  relating  it :  in  the  course  of  a  debate,  some 
what  heated,  concerning  the  state  of  affairs,  a  lieu 
tenant  of  the  sloop-of-war,  Parker  by  name,  declared 
that  in  the  case  of  a  revolt  or  insurrection  it  would 
easily  be  suppressed,  if  the  courage  of  the  Colonial 
men  was  on  a  par  with  the  virtue  of  the  Colonial 
women !  " 

This  was  too  much  for  the  gallantry  of  young  Jones. 
"  I  at  once  knocked  Mr.  Parker  down,"  he  continued, 
"whereupon  his  companions  seized  him,  and  all 
hurried  from  the  scene,  going  aboard  their  ship. 
Expecting  naturally  that  the  affair  would  receive 
further  attention,  I  requested  Mr.  Granville  Hurst, 


PAUL   JONES  87 

whom  you  know,  to  act  for  me;  suggesting  only  that 
a  demand  for  satisfaction  should  be  favourably  con 
sidered,  and  that  he  should  propose  pistols  at  ten 
paces;  place  of  meeting  Craney  Island;  time,  at  the 
convenience  of  the  other  side." 

Mr.  Parker  seems  to  have  been  loath  to  put  himself 
at  the  disposition  of  Jones's  notedly  unerring  pistol; 
for,  to  the  latter's  "infinite  surpise,  no  demand  came," 
and  the  sloop-of-war  departed  on  the  ebb  tide,  for 
Charlestown,  "without  word  of  any  kind." 

Like  wildfire  the  news  of  the  encounter  spread, 
and  the  colonial  papers  rang  with  it.  The  men 
flocked  about  Jones,  congratulating  him  heartily  on 
the  stand  he  had  taken,  and  the  women,  in  whose 
defence  he  had  spoken  with  such  striking  eloquence, 
did  their  best  to  turn  his  head  with  the  paeans  of  praise 
they  so  unstintedly  chanted.  Paul  found  himself  the 
most  talked-of  man  in  Virginia,  as  it  was  his  fate  to  be 
at  the  French  Court  some  years  later,  for  though  the 
relations  between  England  and  her  colonies  had  long 
been  strained  to  the  point  of  breaking,  it  was  the  first 
"actual  collision  that  had  occurred  on  the  soil  of 
Virginia."  The  aggressor  wearing  his  Majesty's 
uniform,  and  Paul  Jones  being  a  colonist  who  was 
respected  by  all  as  well  as  extremely  popular,  made 
it  impossible  to  gloss  the  breach  over.  Rumour  had 
it  that  Mr.  Parker's  brother  officers  thought  him  well 
punished  for  his  insolence,  and  refused  to  act  for  him 
in  the  event  of  a  duel,  and  that  he  was  obliged  to 
resign  his  commission;  but  as  he  is  known  to  have 
been  present  at  the  bombardment  of  Fort  Moultrie 


88  PAUL   JONES 

by  the  British  squadron  some  time  later,  this  was 
perhaps  not  true. 

Jones  was  a  man  of  keen  political  foresight,  and 
saw  clearly  what  the  inevitable  end  must  be.  During 
the  following  spring,  that  of  1775,  after  a  trip  to  New 
York  in  his  sloop  with  his  crew  and  two  favourite 
slaves,  Cato  and  Scipio,  he  wrote  to  Thomas  Jefferson 
on  hearing  of  the  battle  of  Lexington— 

"  It  is,  I  think,  to  be  taken  for  granted  that  there 
can  be  no  more  temporising.  I  am  too  recently  from 
the  mother  country,  and  my  knowledge  of  the  temper 
of  the  king,  his  ministers  and  their  majority  in  the 
House  of  Commons  is  too  fresh  to  allow  me  to  believe 
that  anything  is,  or  possibly  can  be,  in  store  except 
either  war  to  the  knife  or  total  submission  to  complete 
slavery." 

He  advances  a  most  logical  theory,  unsuggested  by 
his  contemporaries — 

"  I  have  long  known  it  to  be  the  fixed  purpose  of 
the  Tory  party  in  England  to  provoke  these  colonies 
to  some  overt  act  which  would  justify  martial  law, 
dispersion  of  the  legislative  bodies  by  force  of  arms, 
taking  away  the  charters  of  self-government,  and 
reduction  of  all  the  North  American  colonies  to  the 
footing  of  the  West  India  Islands  and  Canada — that 
is,  to  crown  colonies  under  military  rule ;  or,  perhaps, 
to  turn  them  over  to  the  mercies  of  a  chartered 
company  as  in  the  Hindostan,  all  of  which  I  have 
seen. 

"  I  cannot  conceive  of  submission  to  complete 
slavery ;  therefore  only  war  is  in  sight.  The  Congress, 


PAUL   JONES  39 

therefore,  must  soon  meet  again,  and  when  it  meets, 
it  must  face  the  necessity  of  taking  those  measures 
which  it  did  not  take  last  fall  in  its  first  session, 
namely,  provision  for  armament  by  land  and  sea. 

"  Such  being  clearly  the  position  of  affairs,  I  beg 
you  to  keep  my  name  in  your  memory  when  the 
Congress  shall  assemble  again,  and  in  any  provision 
that  may  be  taken  for  a  naval  force,  to  call  upon  me 
in  any  capacity  which  your  knowledge  of  my  seafaring 
experience  and  your  opinions  of  my  qualifications 
may  dictate." 


CHAPTER    III 

1775-1777 

IT  was  Fortune's  whim  to  make  a  pet  of  Paul  Jones. 
To  please  him  she  created  opportunities  for  which 
others  had  waited  in  vain.  One  morning  he  received 
word  that  two  French  frigates  had  dropped  anchor 
in  Hampton  Roads.  With  the  hospitality  of  the  true 
sailor,  he  loaded  his  sloop  with  the  best  the  plantation 
afforded,  and  set  sail  to  welcome  the  stranger.  The 
two  frigates  were  under  the  command  of  Captain  de 
Kersaint,  one  of  the  ablest  officers  in  the  French  navy, 
who  afterwards  became  an  admiral.  The  second  in 
command  was  no  less  a  personage  than  the  Due  de 
Chartres,  eldest  son  of  the  Due  d'Orleans,  and  later 
Egalite  of  the  Revolution,  who  had  been  sent  to 
America  on  a  "  Cruise  of  Instruction,"  to  fit  him  for 
the  hereditary  post  of  Lord  High  Admiral  of  France, 
in  which  he  was  to  succeed  his  father-in-law,  the  Due 
de  Bourbon  Penthievre.  The  Due  de  Chartres,  born 
in  1747,  the  same  year  as  Paul  Jones,  was  a  young 
man  of  affable  disposition  and  pronounced  democratic 
leanings ;  and  it  was  to  break  up  these  ideas,  and  take 
him  beyond  the  reach  of  the  infamous  companions  he 
affected,  that  he  was  sent  to  sea.  It  neither  corrected 
the  one  nor  the  other;  for  his  later  exploits  in  Paris 
would  fill  a  volume  of  scandal  too  racy  for  print. 

His  wife,  Marie  Adelaide  do  Bourbon  Penthievre, 

40 


PAUL   JONES  41 

granddaughter  of  a  former  high  admiral — perhaps  the 
most  distinguished  France  has  known — the  Comte  de 
Toulouse,  a  natural  son  of  Louis  XIV  and  Mme.  de 
Montespan,  was  known  far  and  wide  for  her  benevo 
lence  and  charities.  Her  well-known  admiration  for 
her  sailor  ancestor,  who  had  distinguished  himself 
when  commanding  the  French  fleet  in  the  great  battle 
off  Malaga  in  1704,  made  her  from  the  first  display  a 
more  than  common  interest  in  the  projects  of  the 
fascinating  sailor  who  crossed  her  path.  The  charm 
ing  Duchesse  de  Chartres  inherited  the  wit  and  beauty 
of  Louis's  dashing  favourite,  but  there  the  resemblance 
ended,  for  she  was  a  sweet  and  virtuous  woman.  She 
employed  the  influence  and  tact  of  which  she  was 
mistress  to  help  the  American  cause,  giving  liberally 
of  her  enormous  fortune,  a  generosity  always  lauded 
as  the  kindness  of  her  husband. 

Going  aboard  the  ship,  Jones  found  himself  cor 
dially  welcomed,  and  lost  no  time  putting  the  cargo 
of  the  sloop  at  the  disposal  of  the  French  officers. 
It  was  to  be  a  strong  factor  in  the  cause  he  cham 
pioned,  that  de  Chartres  took  one  of  his  violent  fancies 
to  the  adventurous  Scotchman  ;  for  the  latter  made  no 
secret  that  he  desired  most  minute  information  as  to 
the  construction  of  the  frigate  La  Terpsichore.  With 
royal  prerogative  the  Due  furnished  him  with  complete 
data.  He  had  deck  plans  and  sail  plans  made  by 
the  carpenter.  The  construction  of  the  hull,  batteries, 
spars  and  rigging,  nothing  was  too  trifling  for  Jones 
to  note;  and  it  is  a  fact  that  the  American  frigate 
Alliance,  built  some  time  later,  followed  closely  the 


42  PAUL   JONES 

same  general  lines  and  mounted  the  same  battery, 
twenty-eight  long  twelve-pounders  on  the  gun  deck, 
and  ten  long  nines  above. 

During  the  interview  Kersaint,  who  was  more  con 
servative — and  had  more  to  lose — than  his  prince,  was 
ill  at  ease ;  for  he  had  received  news  of  the  battle  of 
Lexington,  and  it  was  French  policy  to  remain  neutral. 
This  put  him  under  a  certain  constraint  for  the  couple 
of  days  Jones  was  their  guest.  Though  the  prince  was 
eager  to  accept  the  proffered  invitation  and  visit  the 
plantation  near  Urbana,  de  Kersaint,  as  senior  officer, 
was  obliged  to  use  his  authority  and  state  the  case 
freely,  much  to  the  chagrin  of  de  Chartres,  who  wished 
to  see  for  himself  the  much  advertised  charms  of  the 
colonial  belles.  La  Terpsichore  weighed  anchor  and 
sailed  for  Corunna,  where  the  senoritas  soon  consoled 
the  volatile  Due. 

It  was  of  inestimable  advantage  to  Jones  to  have 
had  the  opportunity  of  inspecting  at  such  close  range 
one  of  the  best  and  most  modern  ships  of  the  French 
navy;  and  a  desire  to  be  at  sea  once  more  obsessed 
him  to  such  an  extent,  that  he  could  hardly  wait  the 
slow  train  leading  to  the  great  culmination  desired. 
To  be  prepared  for  whatever  contingency  might  arise 
he  arranged  his  affairs,  appointing  "  the  Frazier  Bros./' 
of  Port  Royal,  trustees  of  his  estate,  ad  interim,  so 
there  would  be  no  confusion  if  his  absence  was 
prolonged. 

The  Continental  Congress  met  in  second  session 
on  May  10,  1775.  The  Provisional  Marine  or  Naval 
Committee  consisted  of  the  chairman,  Robert  Morris, 


PAUL   JONES  48 

Philip  Livingstone,  Benjamin  Harrison,  John  Han 
cock,  Joseph  Hewes,  and  Nicholas  Van  Dyke, 
members.  On  the  motion  of  this  Committee,  Mr. 
Hewes  authorised  the  chairman  to  invite  "  John  Paul 
Jones,  esquire,  gent,  of  Virginia,  Master  Mariner,  to 
lay  before  the  Committee  such  information  and  advice 
as  may  seem  to  him  useful  in  assisting  the  said  Com 
mittee  to  discharge  its  labours." 

It  took  much  discussion,  much  scratching  of  quills 
on  stiff  paper,  to  frame  the  rules  and  regulations  for 
the  new  navy.  An  elementary,  plucky  little  fleet, 
which  dared  defy  the  finest  navy  in  the  world,  with 
its  reputation  of  unbroken  supremacy  over  the  seas, 
manned  by  tried  sailors,  commanded  by  the  smartest 
officers  afloat.  But,  after  all,  the  new  and  the  old 
were  of  the  same  blood.  There  was  the  same  daunt 
less  spirit  in  the  heart  of  the  man  who  was  its  founder 
as  led  Drake  and  Ralei-gh  on  their  path  over  the 
trackless  ocean. 

Then,  as  now,  the  pay  of  officers  was  unpretentious. 
On  vessels  of  twenty  guns  the  captain  received  sixty 
dollars  (£12)  per  calendar  month.  This  was  in  1776. 
The  lieutenant  thirty  dollars  (£6),  and  the  master  the 
same  sum.  The  mate  received  three  pounds  a  month, 
as  did  the  gunner,  boatswain,  surgeon's  mate  and 
captain's  clerk.  The  surgeon  got  twenty-five  dollars 
(£5)>  tne  chaplain  twenty,  the  cooper,  quartermaster, 
coxswain,  armourer,  and  that  most  important  indi 
vidual,  the  cook,  received  nine  dollars  (£i  i6s.)  per 
month.  The  sail-maker,  steward  and  master-at-arms, 
ten  dollars.  The  "  Yeoman  of  the  powder-room  "  had 


44  PAUL   JONES 

nine  dollars  and  a  half,  and  the  seaman  was  last  in 
the  scale,  at  eight.  On  ships  of  "  ten  to  twenty  guns," 
the  pay  ran  a  little  less. 

The  uniforms  were  chiefly  red  and  blue,  the 
captain  being  gay  in  "  blue  cloth  with  red  lappels, 
slashed  cuff,  stand-up  collor,  flat  yellow  buttons,  blue 
britches,  red  waistcoat  with  narrow  lace."  The 
lieutenants  had  "blue  britches,  and  a  round  cuff, 
faced,"  and  they  lacked  the  lace  which  adorned  the 
commanding  waistcoat.  The  masters  had  no  "red 
lappels "  or  "  stand-up  collor,"  their  cuffs  were  not 
faced;  they  had  "blue  britches  and  red  wraistcoats," 
but  the  midshipmen  were  most  gorgeous  in  "  blue 
lappelled  coat,  a  round  cuff,  faced  with  red,  stand-up 
collor,  with  red  at  the  button  and  button  hole,  blue 
britches  and  red  waistcoat." 

It  seems  a  strange  oversight  that  with  all  this 
minuteness  there  is  no  mention  made  of  any  sort  of 
hat  or  cap.  It  was  probably  understood  that  they 
wore  the  prevalent  black  three-cornered  hat.  The 
dress  of  the  seamen  is  not  specified,  indeed  it  was  not 
until  some  years  after  that  a  regular  dress  was  adopted 
for  sailors  in  the  English  navy,  and  this,  of  course, 
was  the  model  on  which  the  venture  of  the  United 
States  was  founded.  It  is  noticeable  that  there  is 
no  mention  of  gold  lace,  or  any  tinsel,  even  brass 
buttons;  and  the  choice  of  side-arms  was  left  entirely 
to  the  discretion  of  the  wearer.  In  the  case  of  the 
marine  officers,  the  orders  are  a  little  more  detailed, 
for  they  were  to  wear  :  "  A  green  coat  faced  with 
white,  round  cuff,  slashed  sleeves,  and  pockets,  with 


PAUL   JONES  45 

buttons  round  the  cuff,  silver  epaulett  on  the  right 
shoulder,  skirts  turned  back,  with  buttons  to  suit  the 
facings." 

"  White  waistcoat  and  britches  edged  with  green, 
black  gaiters,  green  shirts  for  the  men,  if  they  can  be 
procured."  This  last  remark  calls  to  mind  the 
immense  difficulty  experienced  in  finding  sufficient 
clothing,  much  less  proper  uniforms,  for  the  "  Ragged 
Continentals "  who  served  under  Washington's 
standard.  It  is  quite  likely  the  gallant  marines  put 
to  sea  in  shirts  of  less  aesthetic  hue  than  those  speci 
fied — if  indeed  they  were  blessed  with  any  shirts 
at  all ! 

Unquestionably  the  colour  of  their  shirts  interested 
the  crews  much  less  than  the  regulations  in  regard 
to  prize  money.  On  November  15,  1776,  Congress 
"resolved  that  a  bounty  of  twenty  dollars  be  paid  to 
the  commanders,  officers  and  men  of  such  Continental 
ships  or  vessels  of  war  as  shall  make  a  prize  of  any 
British  ships  or  vessels  of  war,  for  every  cannon 
mounted  on  board  such  a  prize  at  the  time  of  such 
capture ;  and  eight  dollars  per  head  for  every  man  then 
on  board  and  belonging  to  such  prize."  All  of  which 
added  zest  to  the  gentle  pastime  of  war. 

In  addition  to  this,  General  Washington  "ap 
proved  "  the  following  distribution  of  the  prize : 
'  That  the  captain  or  commander  should  receive  six 
shares,  the  first  lieutenant  five,  the  second  lieutenant 
and  the  surgeon  four,  the  master  three,  steward  two, 
mate,  gunner,  gunner's  mate,  boatswain  and  sergeant, 
one  and  one-half  shares,  the  private  one."  The  cook 


46  PAUL   JONES 

was  omitted,  but  undoubtedly  ranked  with  the  ordinary 
seaman  when  the  hour  of  distribution  struck. 

Living  must  have  been  extremely  cheap,  for  the 
commanders  of  "  Continental  vessels  of  ten  guns  and 
upwards/5  were  allowed  the  extravagant  sum  of  "  five 
and  one-third  dollars  (£i  is.  6%d.)  per  week  for  sub- 
sistance,"  while  in  domestic  or  foreign  ports.  At  sea, 
they  received  "two  dollars  and  two-thirds  per  week 
for  cabin  expenses."  The  Marine  Committee  was 
"  empowered  to  allow  such  cabin  furniture  for  con 
tinental  vessels  of  war  as  they  shall  judge  proper." 
It  cannot  even  be  hinted  that  the  officers  were 
encouraged  to  live  in  a  wantonly  extravagant  fashion, 
or  is  it  possible  they  should  entertain  at  all,  if  wines 
were  to  figure  on  the  table  ? 

What  an  undertaking,  to  make  a  navy  out  of  whole 
cloth,  for,  at  the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  the  Continental 
government  owned  one  water-tight  craft !  What  a 
risk,  to  man  those  ships,  collected  haphazard,  with 
sailors  from  the  ends  of  the  earth;  officer  them  with 
men  who  accepted  the  positions  from  the  hope  of  the 
prizes  they  should  take  !  There  was  little  talk  of 
patriotism,  the  Continental  government  had  no  money 
to  spend  and  offered  nothing  in  comparison  to  the 
chances  aboard  privateers. 

"  It  is  distressing  to  the  last  degree,"  Jones  wrote, 
"to  contemplate  the  state  and  establishment  of  our 
navy.  The  common  class  of  mankind  are  actuated 
by  no  nobler  principle  than  that  of  self-interest. 
This,  and  this  only,  determines  all  adventures  in 
privateers — the  owners,  as  well  as  those  they  employ ; 


PAUL   JONES  47 

and  while  this  is  the  case,  unless  the  private  emolu 
ment  of  individuals  in  our  navy  is  made  superior  to 
that  in  privateers,  it  never  can  become  respectable- 
it  never  will  become  formidable;  and  without  a 
respectable  navy,  alas,  America !  In  the  present 
critical  condition  of  human  affairs,  wisdom  can 
suggest  no  more  than  one  infallible  expedient — enlist 
the  seamen  during  pleasure,  and  give  them  all  the 
prizes.  What  is  the  paltry  emolument  of  two-thirds 
of  prizes  to  the  finances  of  this  vast  continent?  If 
so  poor  a  resource  is  essential  to  its  independence, 
in  sober  sadness  we  are  involved  in  a  woeful  predica' 
ment,  and  our  ruin  is  fast  approaching. 

"  The  situation  of  America  is  new  in  the  annals  of 
mankind :  her  affairs  cry  haste !  and  speed  must 
answer  them.  Trifles,  therefore,  ought  to  be  wholly 
disregarded,  as  being  in  the  old  vulgar  proverb, 
'  penny  wise  and  pound  foolish/ '  he  continues, 
pleading  the  necessities  of  a  liberal  policy. 

"If  our  enemies,  with  the  best  established  and  most 
formidable  navy  in  the  universe,  have  found  it  ex 
pedient  to  assign  all  prizes  to  the  captors,  how  much 
more  is  such  policy  essential  to  our  infant  fleet?  But 
I  need  no  argument  to  convince  you  of  the  necessity 
of  making  the  emoluments  of  our  navy  equal,  if  not 
superior,  to  theirs." 

There  was  good  common-sense  in  this  logical 
appeal  which  he  laid  before  Congress.  He  was  not 
actuated  by  a  love  of  gain;  he  was  in  the  struggle 
from  motives  of  sound  conviction  that  it  was  a 
righteous  cause,  and  though  only  a  young  man  of 


48  PAUL   JONES 

twenty-eight,  he  was  one  of  the  most  experienced 
sailors  of  his  day.  "  He  knew  there  could  be  no  navy 
unless  it  was  founded  on  a  proper  system  of  subordina 
tion,"  and  rigid  discipline,  which,  "however  unpleas 
ant  to  the  turbulent,  fierce  spirit  of  republicans,  is 
especially  indispensable  in  the  sea  service." 

How  soundly  correct  was  his  judgment  is  often 
shown  in  later  life,  when  the  lack  of  proper  subordina 
tion  ruined  plans  which  he  had  brought  to  the  pitch 
of  perfection — to  have  them  fall  like  card  houses  at  a 
puff  of  unexpected  wind. 

The  creation  of  a  navy  in  a  country  where  precedent 
was  unknown,  with  no  ancient  custom  or  usage  to 
refer  to,  was  a  labour  of  Hercules.  To  all  intents 
and  purposes  an  American,  the  fact  remains  that  Paul 
was  a  Scotchman.  His  enthusiastic  soul  was  wholly 
for  the  cause  of  liberty  in  his  new  country,  but  the 
men  who  envied  him  and  wanted  his  position  never 
let  him  forget  he  was  an  alien.  This  was,  in  truth, 
most  absurd,  for  what  were  they  themselves  ?  what  had 
they  been,  until  a  few  months  ago?  Paul  Jones  had 
served  under  different  masters,  till  he  was  a  far  more 
competent  officer  than  many  of  those  in  the  estab 
lished  navies  of  Europe,  where  influence  and  patron 
age  often  officered  vessels  with  men  of  long  lineage 
and  short  experience.  Jones  differed  from  many  of 
the  patriots,  in  that  he  cared  nothing  for  money.  He 
was  one  of  those  rare  spirits  left  from  the  golden  age, 
who  infinitely  preferred  leading  a  forlorn  hope  to 
being  paid  for  the  same.  He  loved  fame  and  rank 
and  glory,  but,  to  the  money  part,  he  had  a  sublime, 


PAUL   JONES  49 

uri-Scotch  lack  of  appreciation,  delightful  to  the 
romanticist.  He  displayed  none  of  the  Lowland 
peasant  thrift  of  his  supposed  father.  On  one  or  two 
occasions  he  defrayed  the  expenses  of  expeditions  out 
of  his  own  slender  resources,  when  money  could  not 
be  squeezed  out  of  the  prudent  gentlemen  who 
fostered  the  glories  of  American  independence. 

Of  course,  all  these  arrangements  were  not  the  work 
of  a  day,  for  men  weighed  carefully  the  consequences 
involved  by  cutting  adrift  from  the  home  government, 
unpopular  as  it  was,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  a  large 
percentage  of  the  colonists  sided  with  King  George 
and  his  ministers.  It  was  on  the  day  of  October  10, 
1776,  three  months  after  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence,  that  Jones  received  his  formal  commission  of 
"  Captain  in  the  Navy  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America." 

In  the  Journal  of  Congress,  December  22,  1775,  the 
name  of  J  ohn  Paul  Jones  heads  the  list  of  first  lieutenants. 
This  shows  the  strong  political  influence  against  which 
the  Scotchman  always  had  to  contend,  when  a  man 
with  more  practical  experience  of  seamanship  than  the 
"Commander  of  the  Fleet"  and  all  his  officers  com 
bined,  was  relegated  to  a  secondary  place  at  this 
critical  moment  in  the  organisation  of  the  navy.  Of 
course  he  came  from  Virginia,  and  this  state  being 
supreme  in  military  matters,  had  been  obliged  to  yield 
to  the  north,  which  demanded  full  control  of  the  navy, 
and  many  were  the  acrimonious  disputes  between 
Jones's  friend  Joseph  Hewes,  and  John  Adams,  who 
each  had  his  candidates  to  advance. 


50  PAUL   JONES 

Lieutenant  Jones's  first  historical  action  was  that  of 
"  hoisting  the  flag  of  independent  America  "  on  board 
the  Alfred  "with  his  own  hands,  the  first  time  it  had 
ever  been  displayed/'  December  3,  1775.  Captain 
Saltonstall  commanded  the  Alfred,  which  lay  at 
Philadelphia,  but  had  not  arrived  to  assume  his  duties, 
and  Jones  was  ordered  by  John  Hancock  and  other 
members  of  the  Congress  to  break  the  pennant  on 
board  of  the  Alfred.  This  was  not  the  well-known 
stars  and  stripes,  but  the  "  Pine  Tree  and  Rattlesnake 
Flag,"  with  the  motto,  "  Don't  Tread  on  Me  !  "  which 
Jones  always  hated,  and  rejoiced  when  the  other  one 
was  formally  adopted  by  Congress,  by  a  strange 
coincidence,  on  the  same  day  that  he  was  commis 
sioned  captain.  The  Alfred,  on  which  this  ceremony 
was  enacted,  was  formerly  known  as  the  Black  Prince, 
built  at  Maryport  in  Cumberland  in  1766,  for  the  East 
India  trade,  and  was  undoubtedly  the  best  ship  in  the 
newly  formed  navy. 

The  nucleus  of  that  navy  for  which  he  worked  heart 
and  soul,  consisted  of  the  Alfred,  Columbia,  Andrew, 
Doria  and  Cabot.  In  the  latter  part  of  February 
1776  they  put  to  sea,  going  to  the  Cape  of  Delaware, 
where  they  were  joined  by  the  Hornet,  sloop-of-war, 
and  Wasp,  schooner  from  Maryland.  An  appropriate 
couple  to  sail  in  company  ! 

Sharp  north-easterly  gales  blew  the  little  fleet  from 
its  course.  On  March  ist  they  dropped  anchor  at 
Abaco,  in  the  Bahama  Islands;  the  voyage  affording 
no  adventure  or  profit,  as  they  captured  only  a  couple 
of  sloops,  for  the  sake  of  their  pilots.  Learning  from 


PAUL   JONES  51 

these  men  that  the  fort  at  New  Providence  was  well 
supplied  with  powder  and  shot,  they  determined  to 
seize  it  by  landing  a  force  before  the  inhabitants  of 
the  island  got  wind  of  their  arrival.  However,  the 
plan  was  frustrated,  for  the  fort  fired  a  shot  on  their 
approach  to  the  mouth  of  the  harbour,  and,  though 
a  force  of  sailors  and  marines  landed,  it  was  met  by 
a  messenger,  "  with  the  compliments  of  the  governor/' 
and  the  news  that  the  western  fort  was  at  their  dis 
posal;  the  powder  they  found  removed,  but  got 
some  cannon  and  supplies,  carrying  off  the  governor 
and  two  gentlemen  as  prisoners. 

Off  Block  Island  on  April  6th  the  Alfred  and  Cabot 
fell  in  with  the  British  sloop-of-war  Glasgow,  twenty 
guns,  which  they  engaged  with  much  damage  to  the 
Alfred,  the  Glasgow  showing  a  clean  pair  of  heels,  and 
the  American  fleet  not  attempting  to  pursue.  This 
was  a  disgraceful  encounter  which  only  Hopkins's 
political  backing  pulled  him  through.  The  Glasgow 
was  a  small  sloop-of-war,  twenty  guns,  the  Alfred 
carried  twenty-four  long  nines  on  the  gun  deck  and 
six  sixes  on  the  quarterdeck,  and  a  crew  of  two 
hundred  and  twenty.  All  the  guns  could  be  worked 
in  fine  weather,  and  during  the  action  the  sea  was  as 
smooth  as  a  mill-pond.  The  Cabot  was  a  brigantine 
armed  with  fourteen  guns  and  a  crew  of  two  hundred. 
Surely,  even  with  the  damage  to  the  Alfred '  s  steering 
gear,  and  the  sure  low  aim  of  the  Glasgow's  gunners, 
the  day  could  have  been  saved  from  the  sheer 
ignominy  that  marked  it?  The  commanders  of  the 
American  ships,  and  particularly  Commander-of-the- 


D  2 


52  PAUL   JONES 

Fleet  Hopkins,  senior  officer  in  this  fight,  were 
scathingly  criticised  for  not  having  given  chase,  and 
certainly  should  have  taken  the  British  sloop. 

No  sooner  had  the  Americans  reached  port  than  the 
storm  broke,  the  public  condemning  every  one,  from 
commander  to  cook,  with  lavish  impartiality.  Hop 
kins  was  blamed  by  the  country  at  large  as  incom 
petent,  was  court-martialled,  and  nothing  but  Adams's 
influence  kept  him  from  being  dismissed  the  navy. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  is  what  happened  to 
him  in  similar  circumstances  a  few  years  later,  when 
there  was  no  Adams  to  shield  him  from  the  conse 
quences  of  his  incompetence.  The  enraged  colonists, 
with  blissful  ignorance  of  naval  regulations,  blamed 
the  officers  individually,  an  injustice  unendurable  to 
Jones's  love  of  fair  play. 

"  My  feelings  as  an  individual  were  hurt  by  the 
censure  that  has  been  indiscriminately  thrown  out," 
he  wrote.  "  My  station  confined  me  to  the  Alfred's 
lower  gun  deck,  where  I  commanded  during  the 
action;  yet  though  the  commander's  letter,  which  has 
been  published,  says,  '  all  the  officers  in  the  Alfred 
behaved  well ' ;  still  the  public  blames  me,  among 
others,  for  not  taking  the  enemy.  But  a  little  con 
sideration  will  place  the  matter  in  a  true  light;  for  no 
officer  under  a  superior,  who  does  not  stand  charged 
by  that  superior  for  cowardice  or  misconduct,  can  be 
blamed  on  any  occasion  whatever."  He  very  diplo 
matically  concludes,  "  I  wish  a  general  inquiry  might 
be  made  respecting  the  abilities  of  officers  in  all 
stations,  and  then  the  country  would  not  be  cheated." 


PAUL   JONES  58 

There  were  two  courts-martial  following  the 
Glasgow  affair,  and  as  the  result  of  these  Captains 
Hazard  and  Whipple  were  dismissed  the  service, 
Lieutenant  Jones,  on  May  10,  1776,  succeeding 
Hazard  as  captain  of  the  Providence. 

The  moment  had  now  arrived  when  the  "  tide  in 
the  affairs  of  men "  carried  the  adventurous  sailor 
toward  those  heights  to  which  he  so  ardently  aspired. 
The  command  of  the  Providence  was  a  distinct 
triumph  over  those  who  had  barred  his  advancement, 
and  meant  that  he  was  a  recognised  factor  in  the 
cause  he  so  hotly  championed.  Some  of  the  Alfreds 
crew  followed  Jones  to  the  Providence.  Among  them 
was  a  full-blooded  Narragansett  Indian,  from  Martha's 
Vineyard,  a  whaleman  by  trade,  the  first  and  one  of 
the  very  few  Indians  ever  in  the  United  States  navy. 
On  August  2ist  Jones  sailed  on  a  six-weeks'  cruise 
in  the  Providence,  and  this  has  been  called  the  first 
cruise  of  an  American  man-of-war — the  first  to  be 
noticed  by  the  enemy,  and  to  shed  any  glory  on  the 
flag  of  the  new  republic. 

Far  beyond  the  numbing  influence  of  red  tape,  far 
beyond  the  gossip  of  the  stay-at-homes  and  faint 
hearted,  every  inch  of  canvas  swelled  by  winds  that 
favoured  the  hopes  of  that  silent,  swarthy  man, 
he  never  let  an  opportunity  escape  his  alert  eye, 
watchful  of  the  most  trifling  detail  on  which,  in 
the  hour  of  action,  so  much  depended.  It  was 
a  venture  worthy  of  the  Vikings  and  their  rude 
boats,  for  the  seas  were  full  of  English  frigates, 
outranking  the  little  vessel  in  everything  but  the 


54  PAUL   JONES 

"  alertness  of  her  commander  and  the  courage  of  her 


crew." 


Sixteen  prizes  he  took,  eight  were  sunk,  and  the 
other  eight  manned  and  sent  home.  Twice  he  was 
chased,  and  once  nearly  captured  by  the  Solebay, 
twenty-eight  guns,  which  he  had  chased,  mistaking 
her  for  a  merchantman,  only  escaping  by  a  manoeuvre 
"unparalleled  in  its  audacity."  It  was  one  of  those 
opportunities  which  seemed  created  expressly  to  aid 
the  Scotchman  in  his  hour  of  need.  He  says — 

"  We  should  not  have  escaped,  judging  by  the  usual 
rules  of  sea  manoeuvres,  if  the  frigate,  instead  of 
trying  to  box  about  as  she  did  in  a  fresh  breeze,  which 
he  was  standing  as  close  hauled  to  as  his  trim  would 
stand,  had  simply  followed  my  manoeuvre  of  wearing 
around  under  easy  helm,  trimming  his  sails  as  the  wind 
bore.  I  could  not  have  distanced  him  so  much  in  the 
alteration  of  the  course,  and  he  must  have  come  off 
the  wind  very  nearly  with  me,  and  before  I  could 
get  out  of  his  range.  But  he  put  his  helm  the  other 
way  to,  luffed  into  the  teeth  of  a  little  squall  that  I 
saw  already  catVpawing  to  the  windward  when  I  wore 
my  ship,  and  so  he  broke  his  steering  way,  got  taken 
aback,  and  let  me  have  the  chance  to  show  him  a  clean 
pair  of  heels  on  my  little  sloop's  best  point  of  sailing. 
I  do  not  take  to  myself  all  the  credit  for  this,  I  did 
the  best  I  could,  but,  after  all,"  he  comments  modestly, 
"there  was  more  luck  than  sense  about  it.  The  fact 
is,  it  was  one  of  those  singular  cases  often  happening 
at  sea,  where  the  fortune  of  a  lucky  sailor  beats  all 
kinds  of  calculation,  and  where  a  godd  or  bad 


PAUL   JONES  55 

puff  of  wind  foils  all  kinds  of  skill  one  way  or  the 
other." 

"  Be  this  as  it  may,  I  got  off  scot  free,  as  you  will 
see  by  the  date  of  this  letter;  leaving  my  big  adversary 
to  clear  away  his  sheets  and  reeve  preventers  at  his 
leisure ;  meantime  answering  his  distant  broadsides 
by  now  and  then  a  musket  shot  from  my  taffrail  by 
way  of  derision.  The  old  saying  that  '  discretion  is 
the  better  part  of  valour/  may  in  this  case,  I  think, 
be  changed  to  '  impudence  is — or  may  be,  sometimes 
—the  better  part  of  discretion  !  ' 

Luck,  impudence,  call  it  what  you  will,  this  remark 
able  cruise  served  to  bring  the  name  of  Paul  Jones 
before  the  eyes  of  his  adopted  countrymen,  as  well 
as  others  farther  afield.  It  was  his  long  wished-for 
opportunity,  and  he  worked  indefatigably  to  improve 
it.  On  November  2nd  he  sailed  with  the  Alfred  and 
Providence,  Captain  Hacker,  for  a  cruise.  Landing 
at  Isle  Madame  he  captured  a  quantity  of  arms, 
replenished  his  ammunition  and  burned  three  vessels 
belonging  to  the  fishermen  at  Cape  Breton,  adding 
another  loaded  with  salt  fish  to  his  fleet.  Jones  made 
a  dashing  landing  at  Canso,  Nova  Scotia,  capturing 
the  "  Tory  "  flags,  destroying  the  fishing  and  striking 
terror  as  he  went.  He  failed  in  his  intention  of  rescu 
ing  the  Americans,  who  were  working  as  prisoners  in 
the  coal  mines,  owing  to  the  failure  of  Captain  Hacker 
to  obey  orders,  which  was  the  cause  of  so  much  of 
Captain  Jones's  annoyance  in  his  early  American 
experiences.  The  Alfred  brought  her  cruise  to  a  tri 
umphant  finish,  and  put  into  Boston  on  December  10, 


56  PAUL   JONES 

with  flag  snapping  in  the  breeze  and  every  inch  of 
bright  work  glittering  like  gold.  On  his  cruise  of 
thirty-three  days  he  had  brought  in  seven  prizes.  One, 
the  Mellish,  armed  transport,  laden  with  quarter 
master's  supplies  for  the  British  army,  and  the  Bide- 
ford,  with  similar  cargo  for  Sir  Henry  Guy  Carleton's 
forces  assemb'ing  in  Canada.  These  ships,  sailing 
under  convoy  of  the  Milford,  frigate  of  thirty-two 
guns,  were  separated  from  their  convoy  by  a  terrific 
gale,  and  fell  an  easy  prey  to  the  Alfred,  though  larger 
and  heavier  ships  in  every  way.  The  value  of  his 
prizes  and  the  lateness  of  the  season  determined  Paul 
Jones  to  make  for  port,  as  he  did  not  wish  to  take 
chances  of  the  prizes  being  recaptured.  Events 
proved  his  foresight,  for,  two  days  later,  with  the 
Bideford,  Mellish,  and  two  smaller  prizes  under  con 
voy,  they  were  overhauled  by  the  Milford,  in  company 
with  a  letter-of-marque.  They  immediately  gave 
chase  to  the  Alfred  and  her  prizes.  Instantly  Jones 
signalled  his  little  fleet  to  crowd  on  all  sail,  and  make 
to  the  south  and  westward;  he  dropping  to  leeward 
until  he  could  judge  the  force  of  the  enemy.  The 
Milford  was  a  "  dull  sailer,"  and,  the  one  virtue  about 
the  Alfred  being  her  good  sailing,  Jones  was  able  to 
stay  between  the  Milford  and  his  prizes,  though  the 
Milford  managed  to  keep  up  the  chase  during  the 
night,  recapturing  the  least  valuable  of  the  ships, 
which,  through  a  sprung  foretopmast,  had  fallen 
astern.  The  cruise  of  a  month  was  considered  most 
successful,  and  all  Boston  assembled  to  greet  him. 
He  wrote  to  Robert  Morris,  immediately  on  arriving, 


PAUL   JONES  57 

the  reason  of  his  not  fighting  the  Milford,  a  larger 
and  better  armed  ship.  "  I  felt  that  it  would  be  wrong 
in  such  conditions  to  ask  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
men  in  a  ship  of  only  twenty-four  guns  to  stand  along 
side  a  thirty-two  of  regular  rate  and  battery,  with 
surely  over  two  hundred  in  her  complement.  I  felt 
'that  it  would  be  asking  too  much  of  the  cards,5  as 
we  say  in  whist,  when  we  have  a  poor  hand.  So  I 
ran,  and  I  am  not  ashamed  to  confess  it.  But  I 
brought  my  prizes  safe  in,  and  I  did  not  submit  the 
poor  Alfred  and  her  short  crew  to  the  chance  of  being 
sunk  and  butchered  by  what  I  considered  a  foe  so 
superior  that  battle  with  him  would  be  hopeless." 

This  good  reasoning  brought  its  very  substantial 
reward,  for,  when  the  Mellistis  cargo  was  broken  out, 
untold  treasures  appeared,  prosaic,  but  more  welcome 
to  the  ragged  continentals  than  precious  jewels. 
There  were  ten  thousand  complete  uniforms,  with 
cloaks,  great  boots,  socks  and  woollen  shirts,  intended 
for  Lord  Howe's  army.  Fourteen  hundred  tents,  and 
seven  thousand  pairs  of  blankets,  six  hundred  saddles, 
with  complete  cavalry  equipment,  and  one  million 
seven  hundred  thousand  rounds  of  "  fixed  ammu 
nition  "—as  cartridges  were  then  called.  A  large 
supply  of  medical  stores,  and  forty  cases  of  medical 
instruments,  with  sundry  odds  and  ends,  and  forty-six 
soldiers  sent  out  to  join  the  different  regiments.  The 
Bideford  was  not  far  behind  in  value,  for  she  had 
seventeen  hundred  fur  overcoats,  for  the  use  of  the 
British  forces  in  Canada,  eleven  thousand  pairs  of 
blankets,  destined  for  the  trcrops  and  Indians  who 


58  PAUL   JONES 

were  fighting  with  them  on  the  northern  frontier  of 
the  United  States;  a  thousand  "  Indian  trade  smooth 
bore  "  guns,  with  hatchets,  flints  and  knives,  for  the 
same  red-skinned  warriors,  and  eight  light  six-pound 
field-guns  and  equipage  for  four-gun  batteries  of 
horse  artillery.  All  Sir  Guy  Carleton's  choice  wines 
fell  into  the  hands  of  his  foes,  and  a  fine  case  of 
Galway  duelling  pistols  was  appropriated  by  Jones, 
with  a  share  of  the  wines.  He  had  no  use  for  the 
rest  of  the  spoil. 

In  a  measure  he  was  content,  having  practically 
demonstrated  his  favourite  point,  that,  in  time  of  war, 
a  small  fleet,  aiming  directly  at  the  destruction  of 
commerce,  especially  the  shipping  at  various  ports, 
can  cripple  the  enemy  by  interrupting  the  sinews  of 
war  more  than  can  a  larger  fleet,  fighting  in  the  open, 
where  it  is  impossible  to  capture  more  than  a  given 
number  of  merchant  ships,  with  the  greater  element 
of  chance  to  aid  their  escape,  and  the  trouble  and  care 
of  the  prisoners  to  contend  with. 

''  Jones's  plan  contemplated  destruction,  not  cap- 
true;  injury  to  the  enemy,  not  prize-money  primarily. 
The  latter  he  recognised  as  a  necessary  concession  to 
the  sordid  weakness  of  the  mass  of  mankind;  for 
himself,  glory,  distinction,  was  the  prime  motive — 
self-seeking  in  him  took  the  shape  of  loving  military 
success,  not  money." 

A  few  weeks  later  he  received  the  tidings  of  the 
total  destruction  of  his  plantation,  his  worldly  wealth, 
swept  away  in  a  twinkling.  As  he  said,  "It  appears 
that  I  have  no  fortune  left  but  my  sword,  and  no 


PAUL   JONES  59 

prospect  except  that  of  getting  alongside  the  enemy." 
Little  as  he  prized  money,  this  was  a  serious  blow. 
His  plantation  had  been  the  source  of  a  good  sound 
revenue.  "  During  the  three  seasons  of  my  owner 
ship,  1773-4-5,  the  net  income  from  the  agriculture, 
trade  and  milling  of  the  plantation,  was  nearly  4000 
guineas  in  the  aggregate  over  and  above  all  necessary 
outlays."  And  that  sum  was  worth  quite  three  times 
what  it  is  to-day.  "  Since  my  coming  to  Philadelphia, 
a  year  ago  last  June,  I  have  lived  on  this  surplus, 
having  drawn  from  the  public  funds  only  £50  in  all 
that  time;  and  this  not  for  pay  or  allowances,  but  to 
reimburse  me  for  expenses  of  enlisting  seamen.  Since 
July  1775,  I  have  drawn  to  Philadelphia  about  2000 
guineas  in  prime  bills.  Of  this  900  guineas  remain 
on  balance.  This  is  all  I  have  in  the  world,  except 
an  interest  in  the  firm  of  Archibald  Stuart  &  Co.  of 
Tobago,  which,  being  under  the  enemy's  control,  is 
of  course  unavailable.55 

He  was  much  grieved  over  the  capture  of  his  slaves, 
"whose  existence  was  a  species  of  grown-up  child 
hood,  not  slavery.  The  plantation  was  to  them  a 
home,  not  a  place  of  bondage  .  .  .  now  they  are 
carried  off  to  die  under  the  pestilential  lash  of  Jamaica 
cane  fields,  and  the  price  of  their  poor  bodies  will 
swell  the  pockets  of  English  slave  traders.  For  this 
cruelty  to  these  innocent,  harmless  people,  I  hope 
some  time,  soon,  to  exact  a  reckoning.55 

Canny  old  Macbean  had  escaped  in  the  confusion 
of  Lord  Dunmore's  raid,  and,  despite  his  three  score 
years,  joined  General  Morgan's  riflemen,  and  Jones 


60  PAUL   JONES 

begs  Mr.  Hewes  to  "  mention  him  "  to  Morgan.  Old 
Duncan,  "  who  always  limps  a  little  with  an  old  wound 
of  Braddock's  defeat/'  was  "without  rival  in  the  art 
of  deer-stalking  in  the  tidewater  country,  and  a  dead 
shot.  He  has — I  presume — taken  with  him  the  fine 
Lancaster  rifle  of  my  brother.  It  is  the  best  rifle  I 
know  of  in  Virginia,  and  if  Duncan  has  it,  all  is  well." 
He  expresses  a  low  opinion  of  "his  lordship's  con 
ception  of  civilized  warfare,"  which  opinion  all  the 
tidewater  region  of  Virginia  heartily  endorsed ;  though 
the  burning  of  Norfolk,  for  which  Dunmore  in  blamed, 
was  the  work  of  the  towspeople  themselves,  to  keep 
the  troops  from  shelter  in  the  bitter  weather.  He 
describes  the  plantation,  after  a  visit  some  months 
later,  as  "  the  completest  wreck  imaginable  of  every 
kind  of  possessions  that  were  on  the  land,  and  there 
fore  could  not  be  scuttled  and  sunk  in  the  sea." 

But  in  his  tempestuous  life,  where  the  bitter  mingled 
so  with  the  sweet,  there  was  no  time  for  repining. 
On  his  return  he  learned  that  a  number  of  unheard-of 
skippers  had  been  promoted  over  his  head,  making 
him  eighteenth  instead  of  sixth  captain  on  the  list. 
Six  of  these  estimable  persons  were  friends  of  Adams, 
and  hailed  from  New  England,  which,  Jones  remarks, 
"gives  rise  to  the  suspicion  in  my  mind  that  Mr. 
Adams  has  taken  advantage  of  my  absence,  cruising 
against  the  enemy,  and  thus  debarred  from  watchful 
ness  of  the  happenings  ashore  to  promote  at  small  cost 
to  himself  several  more  of  his  respectable  skippers  of 
West  Indian  lumber-droghers  at  my  expense.  If  their 
fate  shall  be  like  that  of  his  share  in  the  first  five 


PAUL   JONES  61 

captains  last  year,  I  can  only  say  that  Mr.  Adams  has 
properly  provided  for  a  greater  number  of  courts- 
martial  than  of  naval  victories !  " 

A  nasty  stab  in  the  back  to  one,  who,  as  he  says, 
was  at  sea,  ignorant  of  what  was  taking  place.  He 
tells  Jefferson  :  "  You  are  aware,  honoured  sir,  that  I 
have  no  family  connection  at  my  back,  but  rest  my 
case  wholly  on  what  I  do.  As  I  survey  the  list  of 
twelve  captains  who  have  been  newly  jumped  over 
me  by  the  act  of  October  loth,  I  cannot  help  seeing 
that  all  but  three  are  persons  of  high  family  connec 
tion  in  the  bailliwick  of  Mr.  Adams." 

The  following  month,  so  great  had  been  the  dis 
satisfaction  shown  by  many  members  of  the  Congress, 
a  new  list  of  captains  was  drawn  up  with  a  "re 
arrangement  of  linear  rank,"  in  which  Jones  was  sixth, 
or  just  after  Nicholas  Biddle.  But  the  "political 
skippers,"  as  Jones  always  called  them,  had  influence 
enough  to  get  this  pigeon-holed,  and  it  was  heard  of 
no  more. 

Almost  immediately  on  returning  from  this  success 
ful  voyage,  Jones  was  surprised  and  chagrined  at  the 
orders  he  received  to  turn  the  Alfred  over  to  Captain 
Hineman.  Jones  was  ordered  to  report  to  Phila 
delphia,  then  the  capital  of  the  United  States,  for 
duty  in  connection  with  the  Board  of  Advice  to  the 
Marine  Committee,  remaining  there  from  January  till 
June  1777-  He  worked  with  a  will  to  bring  order  out 
of  the  chaos  by  which  he  was  confronted,  succeeding 
in  leaving  the  stamp  of  his  personality  on  even  so  dull 
a  subject  as  naval  regulations.  On  June  I4th,  Jones 


62  PAUL   JONES 

was  ordered  to  Portsmouth  to  command  the  Ranger, 
then  building,  and  from  this  moment  begins  the  most 
interesting  part  of  his  stormy  career,  when  from  a 
reputation  not  more  than  local,  he  sprang  into  world 
wide  fame  which,  with  its  glamour,  remained  un- 
dimmed  to  the  hour  of  his  death. 


CHAPTER    IV 

1777 

ARE  we  not  inclined,  like  children,  disappointed  at 
beholding  king  and  queen  in  commonplace,  everyday 
clothes,  when  fancy  adorned  them  in  glittering  crown 
and  robes,  to  picture  our  heroes  as  living  from  cradle 
to  grave  in  a  blaze  of  glory?  As  moving  through  life 
to  soft,  musical  murmurs  of  praise,  greeting  acquaint 
ances  with  a  politely  uplifted  halo,  in  place  of  the 
hat  of  ordinary  mortals?  When  we  hear  of  these 
fortunate  ones,  they  have  reached  the  pinnacle  which 
they  occupy  naturally,  so  that  we  forget  the  mighty 
effort  which  put  them  there. 

We  read  glowing  accounts  of  the  battles  Nelson 
won — but  do  not  think  much  about  the  routine  which 
made  his  success ;  admire  Wellington,  with  the  laurels 
of  Waterloo  becomingly  surmounting  that  historic  nose 
—but  forget  the  obscure  youth  and  hard  work  which 
gave  him  name  and  fame,  great  enough  to  have  a 
boot  called  after  him.  We  carelessly  forget,  too,  the 
hundreds  of  petty,  everyday  annoyances,  the  back 
biting  and  strife,  which  the  successful  must  conquer 
or  ignore.  In  fact,  we  enjoy  effect,  without  much 
thought  as  to  the  cause.  Paul  Jones  achieved  fame, 
he  did  not  have  it  thrust  upon  him.  We  hear  of  him 
as  an  always  successful  captain,  and,  from  the  time 
he  was  allowed  to  act  alone,  without  senior  officer, 

63 


64  PAUL   JONES 

or  cut-and-dried  orders,  he  sprang  into  renown  in  a 
night.  He  was  not  a  conceited  or  egotistical  man,  but 
he  had  that  fore-sense  of  what  he  could  do,  which 
never  led  him  into  a  blunder.  His  only  failures  were 
when  he  was  forced  to  act  in  concert  with  those  who 
had  not  been  put  under  his  absolute  command.  The. 
more  one  analyses  Paul  Jones  and  his  career,  the 
more  remarkable  it  seems,  for  he  had  no  one  on  whom 
to  depend  or  look  to  for  favour.  The  influence  of 
the  boudoir  played  little  part  in  his  early  struggles  for 
recognition.  No  mysterious  relative  in  slouched  hat, 
with  drooping  plumes  and  cloak  concealing  the  lower 
part  of  his  face,  met  him  'neath  a  blasted  oak  in  the 
moonlight,  pressed  purses,  heavy  with  gold,  into  his 
surprised  hand,  and  vanished  with  a  hoarse  whisper 
of  further  benefits  to  be  conferred,  if  due  secrecy 
were  observed.  No  inopportune  old  retainer  hindered 
his  footsteps,  for  "  the  sake  of  the  family."  He  was 
singularly  free  from  these  romantic  encumbrances. 
By  sheer  grit  and  determination  he  carried  himself 
on,  accomplishing,  not  planning,  those  deeds  which 
brought  him  lasting  fame.  From  first  to  last  it  was 
a  struggle,  unceasing,  unending. 

One  sometimes  wonders  how  different  the  history 
of  his  period  might  have  been  if  chance  had  guided  his 
steps  into  the  navy  of  his  own  country,  where  he  could 
have  fought  alongside  Nelson  and  Howe,  in  steady 
command,  sure  of  promotion  and  the  future,  and  not 
had  to  solicit  employment  which  was  his  by  right  of 
ability.  Despite  the  cant  of  democracy  and  merit 
alone  succeeding,  the  United  States  navy,  like  those 


PAUL   JONES  65 

of  older  lands,  was  from  the  first  the  toy  of 
favouritism.  To  this  may  be  attributed  its  early 
blunders  and  failures.  The  navy  was  controlled  by 
the  gentlemen  from  Massachusetts,  and  John  Quincy 
Adams,  its  virtual  dictator,  filled  the  desirable  posts 
with  those  who  had  the  luck  to  please  him,  without 
the  slightest  reference  to  their  fitness.  Nevertheless, 
war  is  no  respecter  of  favouritism,  and  the  dire 
failures,  the  blunders  of  the  "  Commander-in- 
Chief  "  and  Captain  Dudley  Saltonstall,  who  was  also 
'dismissed  the  service,  opened  the  eyes  of  Congress 
to  the  state  of  things,  and  served  to  place  Paul  Jones 
in  a  position  free  from  "the  incubus  of  imbecile 
superiors."  From  that  moment,  to  the  end  of  his 
eventful  career,  Paul  Jones  was  always  the  ranking 
officer  on  his  station,  and  never  afterward  served 
under  the  orders  of  a  senior. 

In  person,  Paul  Jones  was  about  middle  height,  so 
slender  as  to  be  wiry,  so  lithe  as  to  be  compared  to 
a  panther;  so  swift  in  his  movements  that  he  was 
described  as  "  chain  lightning."  Swarthy  as  a 
Spaniard,  with  eyes  so  grey  as  to  be  black  in  moments 
of  excitement,  with  a  well-turned  leg  and  aristocratic 
hands  and  feet,  and  a  wonderful  voice  which  could 
command  sharply  or  melt  into  the  most  winning 
endearments.  Nathaniel  Fanning,  his  friend  and 
shipmate,  describes  him— 

"  Though  of  low  stature  and  slender  build,  the 
Commodore's  neck,  arms  and  shoulders  were  those 
of  a  heavy-set  man.  His  neck  was  out  of  proportion 
to  the  rest  of  him.  The  strength  of  his  arms  and 


66  PAUL   JONES 

shoulders  could  hardly  be  believed;  and  he  had  equal 
use  of  both  hands,  even  to  writing  with  the  left  as 
well  as  the  right  hand.  He  was  past  master  in  the  art 
of  boxing,  and  though  there  were  many  hard  nuts  to 
crack  in  the  various  crews  he  commanded,  no  one 
ever  doubted  that  the  Commodore  was  the  best  man 
aboard.  To  all  this  he  added  a  quickness  of  motion 
that  cannot  be  described  except  by  saying  that  he  was 
quicker  than  chain  lightning.  When  roused,  he  would 
strike  more  blows  and  do  more  damage  in  a  second 
than  any  other  man  I  ever  saw  could  do  in  a  minute. 
Even  when  calm  and  unruffled,  his  gait  and  all  of 
his  bodily  motions  were  exactly  like  those  of  the 
panther — noiseless,  sleek,  and  the  perfection  'of 
grace,  yet  always  giving  one  the  idea  that  it  would 
be  well  to  keep  out  of  reach  of  his  paws  and 
teeth. 

"  He  always  fought  as  if  that  was  what  he  was  made 
for,  and  it  was  only  when  most  perfectly  at  peace  that 
he  seemed  ill  at  ease,  or,  at  least,  restless. 

"  He  was  never  petulant  toward  those  subordinate 
to  him.  Even  in  cases  of  failure  to  carry  out  his 
orders  or  meet  his  expectations  he  would  be  lenient, 
patient  and  forbearing  so  long  as  he  did  not  detect 
or  think  he  detected  wilfulness  or  malice.  But  if  he 
obtained  such  an  impression,  there  could  be  no  peace 
with  him.  He  was  not  a  quarrelsome  man,  in  the 
sense  of  proneness  to  pick  quarrels;  but  he  was  the 
easiest  person  I  have  ever  seen  for  any  fighting  man 
to  pick  a  quarrel  with. 

:<  In  ordinary  intercourse,  either  official  or  personal, 


PAUL   JONES  67 

it  was  a  constant  delight  to  be  with  him,  at  least  for 
those  who  by  their  conduct  had  gained  his  esteem; 
and  in  his  air  and  manner  toward  such  there  was  a 
charm  the  like  of  which  I  have  never  seen  or  heard 
of  in  any  other  man." 

Even  so  stolid  a  person  as  the  old  Quaker, 
Franklin,  felt  the  extraordinary  fascination  of  the 
sailor's  vivid  personality,  as  is  readily  shown  in  the 
letter  which  he  sent,  introducing  him  to  the  Comtesse 
d'Houdetot,  June  1780— 

"  No  matter  what  the  faults  of  Commodore  Jones 
may  be  ...  I  must  confess  to  your  ladyship  that 
when  face  to  face  with  him,  neither  man,  nor,  so  far 
as  I  can  learn,  woman,  can  for  a  moment  resist  the 
strange  magnetism  of  his  presence,  the  indescribable 
charm  of  his  manner;  a  commingling  of  the  most 
perfect  self-esteem  that  I  have  ever  seen  in  a  man; 
and,  above  all,  the  sweetness  of  his  voice  and  the 
purity  of  his  language.  I  offer  these  thoughts  to  the 
gracious  consideration  of  your  ladyship,  no  less  as  a 
warning  than  as  a  favourable  introduction." 

Paul  Jones  undeniably  possessed  the  powerful 
charm  of  an  inscrutable  personality;  none  might 
boast  his  confidence  or  read  his  heart;  mystery  sur 
rounded  his  origin  with  an  impenetrable  veil.  The 
fair  sex  were  his  slaves,  he  had  only  to  choose.  His 
tender  chivalry  towards  all  women  is  often  mentioned. 
His  discretion  in  affaires  dc  cceur  was  only  matched 
by  his  popularity  and  the  number  of  his  conquests. 
Of  all  this  there  is  no  word,  no  hint  in  memoir 
or  journal;  no  yellowing  indiscreet  letters,  lying 


68  PAUL   JONES 

forgotten  in  a  ponderous  coffer  heavy  with  the  dust  of 
dead  things,  betrays  the  secret  kept  so  well.  Intuition 
whispered  that  one  day  the  world  would  wish  to  know 
his  life,  his  innermost  soul ;  to  dissect  his  very  heart : 
and  he  destroyed  all  tokens  of  the  women  who  had 
loved  him. 

To  others  he  was  lavish;  his  own  tastes  were  the 
most  simple;  towards  his  inferiors  he  behaved  with 
the  generosity  of  a  prince;  to  his  sailors  he  was  com 
mander  and  friend.  He  never  ordered  flogging  on 
any  ship  he  commanded,  and  is  known  to  have  person 
ally  thrown  the  cat-o'-nine-tails  overboard.  On  the 
occasion,  years  later,  when  he  allowed  the  look-outs 
to  be  punished  for  dire  carelessness,  he — it  is  said — 
ordered  that  the  men  should  be  flogged  in  their  shirts, 
which  made  the  chastisement  a  farce.  He  "  talked  to 
the  men  like  a  father,"  or,  most  terrible  punishment 
devised  by  human  cruelty,  stopped  their  grog  for 
three  days,  which  had  a  chastening  effect.  He  inter 
ested  the  sailors  in  the  smallest  details  of  their  work, 
gave  them  lessons  in  rope-splicing,  or  reproved  a 
young  sailor  for  his  "  lubberly  walk,"  with  a  personal 
demonstration  of  the  correct  swagger  to  be  kept  in 
mind  by^Jack  afloat.  Every  one  of  those  "gun-deck 
hearties  "  knew  the  Captain  was  the  best  man  aboard, 
that  his  methods  were  summary  and  much  to  the 
point. 

"  I  tell  you,  my  men,"  he  said,  "  once  for  all,  that 
when  I  become  convinced  that  a  sailor  of  mine  must 
be  killed,  I  will  not  leave  it  to  be  done  by  boatswain's 
mates  under  slow  torture  of  the  lash;  but  I  will  do  it 


PAUL   JONES  09 

myself ;  and  so  G —  d —  quick  that  it  will  make  your 
heads  swim !  " 

These  pacific  and  briefly  expressed  opinions,  so 
casually  mentioned  by  their  commander,  had  the  merit 
of  letting  those  "  hard  nuts  "  in  the  various  crews  he 
commanded  know  just  where  they  stood,  should 
occasion  arise. 

From  his  earliest  life  at  sea  he  showed  distaste  for 
the  tavern  brawls  and  rowdy  amusements  of  Jack 
ashore,  preferring  the  company  of  the  better  classes 
in  the  ports  visited.  His  spare  time  was  profitably 
employed  in  reading  such  books  as  he  could  obtain, 
and  in  the  study  of  naval  history.  Ambition  was  bred 
in  his  bone.  Perhaps  it  was  hereditary;  an  uncon 
scious  desire  to  take  the  place  in  the  world  that  was 
his  rightfully — if  one  disallows  the  peasant  origin. 
He  was  a  famous  shot  with  the  duelling  pistol,  which, 
with  his  delighted  readiness  to  fight,  made  men  wary 
of  treading  too  heavily  on  forbidden  ground  in  his 
presence. 

The  more  one  reads  of  John  Paul  Jones,  of  his 
ease  and  perfect  sang-froid  in  the  highest  society,  of 
his  well-turned  compliments  to  royalty,  of  his  never 
offending  the  susceptibilities  of  the  French,  and,  in 
after  years,  the  Englishmen  of  rank  with  whom  he 
formed  friendships,  the  more  one  is  inclined  to  pause 
and  wonder  who  his  parents  really  were.  It  seems  in 
credible,  at  a  time  when  class  distinctions  were  as 
rigid  as  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians,  when 
education  was  of  the  most  primitive,  that  the  son  of 
a  gardener  and  a  lady's  maid  could  pass  the  tests  to 


70  PAUL   JONES 

which  he  was  hourly  subjected,  without  once  making 
a  faux  pas.  Though  his  detractors  were  many,  and 
he  was  called  a  pirate,  a  privateer,  and  by  other  terms 
of  opprobrium,  those  who  knew  him  intimately,  the 
royalties  by  whom  he  was  received,  the  courtiers  and 
men  of  letters,  and  all  those  with  whom  in  his  active 
life  he  came  in  daily  intercourse,  have  left  no 
comment  but  that  in  the  highest  degree  favourable 
to  him.  He  was  elegant  in  manner,  and  during  the 
last  years  of  his  life  so  exquisite  in  his  dress  as  to 
be  remarked  in  any  assembly.  Later  portraits  of 
him  display  a  foppish  niceness  most  incompatible 
with  the  legendary  pirate  and  buccaneer  so  greatly 
feared  on  the  boundless  ocean.  His  life  was  a 
romance.  He  appealed  to  the  strongest  primitive 
passion  in  man  :  the  love  of  fighting,  which,  civilise 
us  as  you  may,  is  only  dormant,  ready  to  burst  forth 
at  the  first  beat  of  the  drum.  We  remember  him 
because  he  fought  and  loved  it,  and  because  he  was 
victorious.  He  was  a  living  example  of  the  old  say 
ing  :  "  There  is  nothing  so  successful  as  success."  If 
he  was  the  unwanted  child  of  a  great  family,  did 
his  mother  follow  his  meteoric  career  with  pride,  or 
with  some  regret  for  the  part  convention  compelled 
her  to  play? 

American  politics  were  in  a  turmoil,  there  was  much 
"mounting  in  hot  haste"  and  galloping  about  the 
country.  From  morning  till  night  Paul  Jones  was 
hurrying  from  one  point  to  another,  too  busy  to  mind 
fatigue,  too  full  of  enthusiasm  to  be  daunted  by  the 


PAUL   JONES  71 

colossal  proportions  of  the  task  he  had  undertaken  : 
making  a  navy  without  ships,  and  manning  it  without 
sailors.  It  was  on  one  of  these  hasty  journeys  from 
Philadelphia,  while  stopping  to  change  horses  at 
Alexandria,  that  he  was  wakened  out  of  a  day-dream 
by  the  unusual  sound  of  the  French  and  German 
languages,  mingled  with  broken  English;  and  saw  a 
party  of  gentlemen  trying  to  make  their  wants  under 
stood  to  the  innkeeper,  who  spoke  no  language  but 
his  own. 

This  was  Jones's  first  meeting  with  the  rattle-pated 
Lafayette,  who  had  run  away  from  his  home  and 
family  to  put  his  finger  in  the  pie  of  American  inde 
pendence.  Lafayette  spoke  a  little  English,  the 
Baron  de  Kalb  none  at  all,  so  Jones,  who  was  one 
of  the  four  captains  in  the  United  States  Navy  who 
spoke  French,  and  the  only  one  to  do  so  fluently, 
stepped  into  the  breach.  Lafayette  relates  the 
incident. 

"  A  slender,  black-haired,  black-eyed,  swarthy 
gentleman  in  a  naval  uniform  and  of  most  martial 
and  distinguished  bearing  approached,  and  said  in 
perfect  French— 

'  Pardon,  Monsieur ;  il  me  semble  que,  peut-etre^ 
je  -£>eux  voits  aider.  En  tel  cas^  commandez,  s'il  vous 
plait: 

" Delighted  to  hear  my  mother  tongue  so  unex 
pectedly  and  so  opportunely  spoken,  I  informed  the 
gentleman  who  we  were,  and  asked  whom  I  might 
have  the  honour  to  address.  To  which  he  replied  : 
'  f'ai  Vhonneur  d '  etre  Capitame  de  f  re  gate  de  la 


72  PAUL   JONES 

marine  des  Etats  Unis;  ct  on  m'appele  Paid  Jones, 
a  votre  service,  Monsieur' 

"  Profoundly  acknowledging  his  courtesy,  I  at 
once  turned  over  to  Captain  Paul  Jones  the  task  of 
composing  our  difficulties,  and  instantly  discovered 
that  he  was  a  captain  in  fact  as  well  as  by  title.  The 
people  there  seemed  to  know  him  well.  He  assumed 
an  air  of  easy,  though  quite  imperious,  mastery  of  the 
situation,  and  in  a  very  short  time  our  cavalcade  was 
ready  to  set  out.  He  had  an  appointment  to  dine 
that  evening  with  friends  in  Alexandria,  but  upon 
invitation  to  join  our  party,  he  hastily  sent  a  messenger 
to  cancel  the  engagement,  '  by  reason  of  a  sudden 
and  unexpected  pressure  of  public  duty  of  grave 
importance/  and  journeyed  with  us  thence  to 
Philadelphia." 

Of  course,  Lafayette  heartily  endorsed  Jones's  pet 
scheme  of  cruising  in  foreign  waters,  with  the  object 
of  harassing  the  enemy's  shipping  as  much  as  pos 
sible.  The  new  flag  of  the  United  States  must  be 
displayed  on  the  high  seas  and  enter  the  ports  of 
other  lands,  bringing  tangible  proofs  of  its  existence 
to  the  rulers  of  the  old  world,  before  the  new  republic 
could  hope  to  be  accepted  as  an  accomplished  fact. 
English  shipping  must  be  injured  to  make  other 
nations  aware  that  a  new  navy  had  appeared  on  the 
seas  of  the  world.  Though  the  successes  of  the 
American  ships  had  been  gratifying,  their  fame  was 
local.  Vital  as  it  was  to  the  colonists,  their  struggle 
was  spoken  of  contemptuously,  and  not  treated  with 
much  seriousness,  till  the  Revolution  had  gone  so  far 


PAUL   JONES  73 

that  to  kill  it  was  impossible.  The  comatose, 
bewigged  old  gentlemen  who  had  the  management  of 
the  colonies  in  their  hands,  were  too  much  wrapped 
in  the  cotton-wool  of  perfect  self-content  to  pull  that 
wool  from  over  their  ears,  and  listen  to  what  was 
going  on  in  the  outside  world. 

It  was  Lafayette's  idea  that  a  squadron  of  French 
ships  should  be  fitted  out  and  sail  under  the  commis 
sion  and  flag  of  the  United  States.  This  course 
would  embroil  England  and  France,  and  also  provide 
better  ships  than  the  United  States  could  construct 
or  buy.  He  wrote  to  Washington  that  "  Captain 
Jones  possesses,  far  beyond  any  other  officer  in  your 
service,  that  particular  aplomb,  grace  of  manner, 
charm  of  person  and  dash  of  character  always  required 
to  captivate  the  French  fancy."  He  declared  far  and 
wide  that  Paul  Jones  was  the  only  captain  in  the 
United  States  Navy  qualified  to  undertake  this 
mission;  that  "  by  his  knowledge  of  the  French 
language  he  fulfilled  the  first  and  greatest  pre 
requisite;  because,"  Lafayette  said,  "it  would  be  use 
less  and  perfectly  idle  to  send  a  captain  over  there 
who  would  need  an  interpreter." 

Lafayette  had  a  great  deal  to  say,  and  was  listened 
to,  being  the  only  one  of  those  distinguished  volun 
teers  who  came  with  full,  and  returned  with  empty, 
hands.  He  was  a  personal  friend  of  Washington, 
and  essayed  to  sway  that  stolid  gentleman  in  Paul 
Jones's  favour  on  every  occasion  that  arose,  though 
not  always  with  success. 

Captain  Jones  now  applied  for  the  Tmmbull,  one 


74  PAUL   JONES 

of  the  thirteen  frigates  built  by  Congress,  to  run 
against  the  spite  of  Mr.  Adams,  who  intended  the 
ship  for  Dudley  Saltonstall;  who,  having  recovered 
from  the  effects  of  his  court-martial,  was  ready  for 
further  service.  It  is  strange  that  one  man  should 
hate  another  in  the  petty  way  Adams  hated  Paul 
Jones,  to  whom  he  always  alluded  as  a  "smooth, 
plausible  and  rather  capable  adventurer,  with  some 
smattering  of  general  knowledge  and  a  fair  command 
of  French  and  Spanish,  due  wholly  to  his  earlier 
career  as  an  English  merchant  captain  trading  to  the 
West  India  Islands  and  Spanish  Main."  Mr.  Adams 
maintained  that  he  was  a  man  of  no  family  connec 
tion,  which,  coming  from  a  good  republican,  in  a  land 
where  "  all  men "  are  declared  to  have  been  born 
"  free  and  equal/'  is  amusing.  As  to  the  motive 
for  the  dislike,  Jones's  correspondent,  Mr.  Hewes, 
lets  the  cat  out  of  the  bag.  One  evening  in  June 
1775,  Jones  was  at  a  party  given  by  Colonel 
and  Mrs.  Carroll  of  Carrollton  at  their  house  near 
the  falls  of  Sghuylkill ;  Mr.  Adams  was  also  present. 
"  Mr.  Adams  was  nothing  if  not  pedantic.  In  the 
course  of  the  entertainment  he  essayed  to  relate  an 
anecdote  of  Fontenelle  to  a  group  of  young  ladies, 
among  whom  were  Miss  Betty  Faulkner  of  Virginia 
and  Miss  Josephine  Mayrant  of  South  Carolina.  Miss 
Faulkner  had  been  educated  in  France,  and  Miss 
Mayrant  belonged  to  one  of  the  Carolina  Huguenot 
families  in  which  French  was  retained  as  the  domestic 
tongue.  Mr.  Adams  related  his  anecdote  of  Fon 
tenelle  in  French. 


PAUL   JONES  75 

"  When  he  was  gone,  Jones,  at  the  request  of  the 
young  ladies,  related  the  anecdote  correctly  both  as 
to  text  and  accent.  One  of  the  younger  ladies  then 
asked  Jones  what  he  thought  of  Mr.  Adams's 
French?" 

Mr.  Hewes  asserts  that  Jones  was  always  reckless 
with  his  wit,  an  assertion  which  is  not  confirmed  by 
the  study  of  his  life,  and  "  more  than  once  in  his 
career  sacrificed  an  interest  for  the  sake  of  an 
epigram.  On  this  occasion,  not  reflecting  that  such  a 
bon  mot  would  be  likely  to  find  repetition  in  such  a 
social  circle  as  that  was,  he  replied  with  mock 
gravity— 

: '  La  cause  des  droits  de  Vhomme,  Mesdemoiselles, 
est,  peut-etre,  heureuse  en  ce  que  les  sentiments 
politiques  de  Monsieur  Adams  ne  sont  pas  a  I' anglais 
egalement  a  son  francais;  car^  autrement^  il  serait 
facilement  le  -plus  grand  Tory  du  pays.' ' 

A  very  free  translation  being,  "  It  is  very  fortunate, 
ladies,  for  the  cause  of  the  rights  of  man,  that  the 
political  sentiments  of  Mr.  Adams  are  not  so  English 
as  his  French  is;  because,  if  they  were,  he  would 
easily  be  the  greatest  Tory  in  the  country." 

'  This  delicious  but  ill-judged  satire  was  not  slow 
in  reaching  the  ears  of  Mr.  Adams,  and  he  ever  after 
wards  hated  Paul  Jones  with  all  the  sturdy  hate  of 
the  Puritan  nature  when  its  vanity  is  wounded." 

If  Paul  Jones  has  been  represented  as  something 
of  a  fire-eater  by  certain  writers,  and  called  quarrel 
some,  the  facts  must  be  taken  into  consideration  that 
from  his  first  service  in  the  United  States,  until  his 


76  PAUL   JONES 

appointment  as  rear-admiral  in  the  Russian  navy,  he 
experienced  enough  annoyance  and  hindrance  in 
everything  he  undertook  to  arouse  the  anger  of  a  much 
milder  man.  He  loathed  deceit,  and  had  a  profound 
contempt  for  those  who  would  shield  their  incapacity 
and  blunders  behind  the  back  of  a  political  godfather 
in  preference  to  facing  the  music.  When  the  incom 
petent  Saltonstall  stood  in  the  way  of  Jones's  getting 
command  of  the  Tmmbull,  he  threatened  to  make 
public  the  charges  which  he  had  long  before  made 
against  him,  of  cruelty  to  his  men,  and  incivility  to 
his  officers  aboard  the  Alfred;  which,  thanks  to 
political  influence,  had  been  kept  dark.  Jones  grew 
tired  of  so  much  procrastination,  and  "  rather  vigor 
ously  informed  Mr.  Morris  that  if  he  could  not 
secure  appropriate  action  in  the  regular  way,  he  would 
conceive  it  his  duty  to  publish  the  facts  over  his  own 
name  and  on  his  personal  responsibilty;  as  he  believed 
the  public  entitled  to  know  what  kind  of  a  naval 
servant  they  had  in  Captain  Saltonstall." 

This  did  not  meet  the  views  of  Mr.  Morris,  who 
thought  "it  would  be  a  sorry  spectacle  to  see  naval 
officers  killing  each  other  when  there  were  so  many 
enemies  to  be  accounted  for."  .  .  .  Jones  bluntly  told 
Mr.  Morris  that  he  "  considered  it  his  duty  to  rid  the 
navy  of  Captain  Saltonstall,  and  if  he  were  denied  the 
opportunity  of  doing  it  in  the  regular  way,  by  court- 
martial,  it  was  quite  immaterial  to  him  what  other  way 
must  be  resorted  to."  Mr.  Morris,  amazed  at  this 
fierce  outbreak,  inquired  if  Jones  had  taken  any  advice 
in  this  most  serious  affair?  Jones  answered  that  he 


PAUL   JONES  77 

most  certainly  had  taken  advice.  "  Of  whom,  pray  ?  " 
asked  Mr.  Morris.  "Of  General  Cadwalder  and 
Captain  Biddle,  sir  !  " 

"Bless  me!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Morris,  "the  two 
fieriest  and  least  tractable  men  in  Pennsylvania.  Each 
the  soul  of  honour  and  the  embodiment  of  courage, 
but  both  wholly  lacking  in  prudence  and  calm  judg 
ment  where  any  personal  issue  is  concerned.  They 
will  always  give  you  advice  to  fight,  which,  by  the 
way,  you  yourself  need  as  little  as  any  man  I  know.3' 

There  was  much  heated  discussion,  which  ended 
in  Morris  commanding  Jones,  "  as  he  valued  his  friend 
ship/'  to  give  him  all  the  papers,  and  proceed  no 
further  in  the  matter.  So  Jones,  unwillingly,  against 
his  judgment,  did  as  his  friend  ordered;  but  when, 
two  years  later,  he  heard  how  Saltonstall  had  lost  a 
fine  new  thirty-two  gun  frigate,  the  Warren,  in 
Penobscot  Bay,  under  circumstances  which  all  his 
political  friends  could  not  prevent  from  ending  his 
career,  he  wrote  bitterly  to  Morris :  "  I  have  just 
learned  the  miserable  fate  of  the  Warren.  To  some 
extent  I  reproach  myself.  If  I  had  obeyed  the 
dictates  of  my  sense  of  duty  in  1777,  instead  of  yield 
ing  to  the  persuasions  of  the  peacemaker,  our  flag 
might  still  be  flying  on  the  Warren" 

But  this  is  anticipation,  and  Saltonstall  got  the 
Trumbull.  Jones  appealed  to  Washington,  before 
whom  he  laid  his  case,  "with  an  earnestness  which 
my  recent  disappointment  about  the  Trumbull  may 
have  made  somewhat  vehement."  Lafayette  was 
present  at  the  interview,  also  the  Generals  Knox  and 


78  PAUL   JONES 

"  Mad  Anthony  Wayne."  Lafayette  made  no  secret 
of  his  sympathies ;  "  but  Gen.eral  Washington,  calm 
and  imperturbable,  walked  up  and  down,  mostly 
listening,  but  now  and  then  asking  a  question  or 
uttering  a  syllable  of  assent.  He  remained  in  this 
mood  for  some  time  after  I  had  done.  Then, 
approaching  me,  he  took  me  by  the  hand  and  said  : 
'  Captain  Jones,  you  have  conceived  the  right  project, 
and  you  are  the  right  man  to  execute  it.  I  will  at 
once  see  members  of  the  Marine  Committee  and  insist 
that  you  be  forthwith  provided  with  the  best  means  at 
their  disposal." 

Washington  did  not  offer  to  use  his  influence  to 
take  the  Tmmbull  from  Saltonstall,  as  it  "would 
cause  friction  in  higher  quarters,  which  he  wished  to 
avoid."  He  was  sorry  there  were  not  enough  frigates 
for  Jones,  the  sixth  captain,  to  have  one.  This  is  an 
instance  where  family  connection  and  backing  would 
have  decided  the  matter  in  the  Scotchman's  favour. 
Washington  kept  his  word.  Jones  was  sent  to  Boston 
with  orders  to  enlist  seamen  for  his  pet  project  of  a 
European  cruise,  and  take  them  over  on  VAmpkitrite, 
a  French  merchantman,  chartered  for  the  purpose. 
But  the  captain  objected  on  the  ground  that,  if  caught 
by  the  English,  his  ship  would  be  condemned  for 
violation  of  neutrality,  as  England  and  France  were 
not  at  war,  and  so  the  whole  thing  fell  through,  much 
to  Jones's  disgust. 


CHAPTER   V 

1777 

IN  the  shipyards  of  the  colonial  town  of  Portsmouth, 
New  Hampshire,  with  its  tales  of  serving-maid  who 
rose  to  the  estate  of  governor's  wife  and  lived  to  walk 
up  the  aisle  of  the  church,  sumptuously  arrayed,  with 
a  train  of  little  blackamoor  pages  carrying  prayer- 
books  and  reticule  on  velvet  cushions;  where  stately 
elms  overhung  the  first  brick  house  built  in  the  new 
country,  that  ship  which  was  to  become  so  famous  as 
the  Ranger  was  being  laid  down. 

She  was  planned  expressly  for  speed,  and  she  was 
the  first  American  ship  to  be  coppered,  a  new  idea  just 
beginning  to  be  adopted  in  the  British  and  French 
navies.  She  was  six  feet  longer  than  any  twenty-gun 
ship-sloop  of  her  day,  in  all  116  feet,  and  she  was  of 
308  tons.  Elijah  Hall,  her  second  lieutenant,  by  trade 
a  shipwright,  describes  her  at  length  with  bewilder 
ing  technicality,  being  much  struck  with  the  fact  that 
"  her  spars,  a  set  got  out  of  a  4OO-ton  Indiaman,  were 
too  heavy  for  a  vessel  of  her  class,"  and  had  "just 
stepped"  the  lower  masts,  with  a  view  to  "cutting 
them  down  about  four  feet  in  the  cups,"  when  Paul 
Jones  appeared  on  the  scene,  and,  being  arbiter  in 
the  matter,  decided  it  was  a  pity  to  spoil  such  fine 
masts,  directing  Mr.  Hall  to  "fid  them  about  four 

79 


80  PAUL   JONES 

feet  lower  than  usual  in  the  hounds,"  which  Mr.  Hall 
proceeded  to  do.  This,  with  the  changes  Jones  made 
in  her  guns,  putting  "fourteen  long  nines"  and  four 
six-pounders,  instead  of  the  original  twenty  six- 
pounders  intended,  "raised  her  centre  of  weight  and 
increased  her  top-heaviness,"  which  with  the  extra 
ballast  necessitated,  brought  her  a  foot  lower  in  the 
water  when  she  was  provisioned  for  the  voyage  than 
planned.  But  she  could,  "with  the  wind  abaft  the 
beam,  or  going  free,  run  like  a  hound,"  though  she 
was  "  somewhat  crank  in  windward  work.  In  outward 
appearance  she  was  a  perfect  beauty,  her  sheer  being 
as  delicate  as  the  lines  of  a  pretty  woman's  arm,  and 
as  she  was  rather  low  in  the  water  for  her  length,  and 
her  masts  raked  two  or  three  degrees  more  than  any 
other  ship  of  the  day,  she  was  on  the  whole  the 
sauciest  craft  afloat." 

When  he  saw  her  Captain  Jones  forgave  the  loss 
of  the  Trumbull;  his  nautical  eye  appraised  her  sail 
ing  worth  and  picked  out  her  good  points,  and  he 
worked  day  and  night  to  get  her  afloat;  reporting  to 
the  Marine  Committee  that  she  would  be  ready  to  sail 
on  October  5.  He  had  the  goodwill  of  the  town, 
there  were  no  obstacles  put  in  his  way  this  time,  and 
interested  spectators  watched  the  work  being  pushed 
for  all  it  was  worth. 

Busy  though  he  was,  it  must  not  be  supposed  Paul 
Jones  neglected  the  social  side  of  life.  Even  without 
his  renown,  his  personal  attractions  won  more  than  a 
sigh  from  the  pretty  maidens  before  whom  he  bowed 
so  deferentially,  perhaps  flirted  with  in  the  jovial 


PAUL   JONES  81 

manner  of  most  sons  of  the  sea,  though  he  departed 
heart-whole  if  not  fancy  free. 

Portsmouth  was  in  the  heart  of  the  revolutionary 
country,  and  its  daughters  emulated  the  spirit  of  the 
"  Boston  Tea  Party,"  drinking  herb  tea,  rather  than 
pay  for  the  heavily  taxed  Bohea.  Portsmouth  had 
been  discovered  by  a  venturesome  craft,  whose  owner 
braved  the  turbulent  currents  of  the  Piscataqua  river 
in  search  of  sassafras  bark,  an  ingredient  greatly 
appreciated  and  employed  by  the  seventeenth-century 
doctors  in  the  nauseous  compounds  forced  upon  their 
patients.  Whether  the  search  was  successful  has  little 
to  do  with  the  story,  but  the  fair  promise  of  the  shores 
which  lay  on  either  side  of  the  river,  with  their  virgin 
forests,  impressed  the  captain  so  favourably  that  his 
report  to  those  at  home  determined  a  venturesome 
party  to  essay  the  trackless  ocean,  and,  in  the  spring, 
or  summer,  of  1623,  David  Thompson  with  a  goodly 
party  of  settlers  from  Plymouth  in  fair  Devon,  landed 
at  Odiorne's  Point,  where  they  built  a  block-house  to 
protect  themselves  from  the  Indians,  and  settled  down 
to  wrest  a  meagre  living  from  the  new  land,  where 
even  the  climate  was  hostile  to  those  accustomed  to 
the  mildness  of  the  south  of  England.  Other  settlers 
followed,  and  the  surrounding  country  was  known  by 
the  suggestive  name  of  "Strawberry  Bank5'  until 
1653,  when  it  was  incorporated  by  the  Government  of 
Massachusetts  under  its  present  name  of  Portsmouth. 

The  settlers  were  so  harassed  by  the  Indians  that 
they  tilled  the  fields  with  gun  slung  over  shoulder,  and 
planted  the  maize  in  rows  radiating  from  their  houses 


82  PAUL   JONES 

so  that  the  redskins  would  have  no  cover  to  creep  upon 
them.  The  country  abounded  in  stone,  hard,  flinty 
granite,  scattered  over  the  land  as  if  from  a  pepper- 
pot;  which,  to  get  rid  of,  they  piled  in  walls  around 
their  meadows  as  their  forefathers  had  'done  in  the 
home  country.  There  was  constant  wrangling  between 
the  Anglican  settlers  and  the  Puritans,  and  at  times 
civil  strife  threatened  to  rend  the  colony.  Those  were 
days  of  no  religious  toleration,  and,  it  must  be  remem 
bered,  that  it  was  only  a  few  miles  to  the  town  of 
Salem,  where  witch-burning  flourished. 

Despite  these  bickerings  Portsmouth,  with  its 
picturesque  environment,  its  many  islands  and  rock- 
bound  coast,  became  in  1679  the  capital  of  a  separate 
county,  known  to-day  as  the  State  of  New  Hampshire. 
The  governor  of  the  state  lived  there,  in  a  charming 
old  house,  with  lodge  gates  and  lawns  sloping  to  the 
river;  and  it  all  seemed  more  like  a  bit  of  home  than 
something  in  a  new,  Indian-troubled  country.  A  few 
miles  from  the  town  he  had  a  country  place,  deep  in 
the  heart  of  fragrant  pine  forests,  where  the  hot 
summer  sun  never  penetrated,  though  its  fiery  breath 
enhanced  the  sweetness  of  the  aromatic  gums  with 
which  the  trees  were  laden. 

Though  Virginia  has  ever  been  the  theme  of  pens, 
writing  of  colonial  times,  the  governors  of  New  Hamp 
shire  and  Massachusetts  held  sway  in  a  lordly  manner; 
tricked  out  themselves  and  their  women-folk  with  right 
royal  pomp  and  circumstance,  for,  it  must  not  be  for 
gotten  that  they  represented  their  king,  equally  with 
their  confreres  of  the  South.  There  were  many  of 


PAUL    JONES  83 

Puritanical  leanings,  outwardly  any  way,  for  their 
Roundhead  ancestry  accounted  for  a  love  of  hypocrisy 
and  eagerness  to  condemn  everything  they  could  not 
understand.  The  different  governors,  the  Wentworths 
and  the  Langdons,  were  open-handed,  high-living 
gentlemen,  a  trifle  pompous  maybe,  as  suited  their  rank 
and  station;  more  than  a  trifle  fond  of  the  fleshpots, 
particularly  of  the  hospitable  and  flowing  bowl  on  a 
winter  night. 

There  was  much  trade  with  the  East  and  West 
Indies,  and  the  spoils  of  those  voyages  still  linger  in 
the  dim  drawing-rooms,  like  spectres  of  the  past.  To 
this  day  its  owner  proudly  shows  a  carpet  stained  with 
the  contents  of  a  wineglass  upset  by  Lafayette,  whose 
elbow  was  jostled  by  a  careless  one  in  the  assembly 
as  he  was  "  taking  wine  "  at  the  request  of  his  host. 
Many  famous  men  had  been  there.  Washington,  and 
Benjamin  Franklin,  who  experimented  with  his  light 
ning-rod,  before  he  forsook  such  prosaic  work,  and 
went  to  France  to  worry  himself  and  every  one  else, 
trying  to  gain  favours  from  those  unwilling  to  grant 
them.  The  old  fort,  William  and  Mary,  was  captured 
at  the  beginning  of  the  revolution  by  militia  sent  from 
Portsmouth,  on  the  arrival  of  the  news  that  the  ex 
portation  of  military  stores  to  America  was  forbidden ; 
the  tidings  being  brought  by  that  indefatigable  horse 
man,  Paul  Revere,  who,  according  to  pictorial  history, 
seems  to  have  spent  his  life  as  one  of  the  "  hatless 
brigade,"  galloping  about  on  a  horse  with  a  long, 
flowing  tail,  shouting  disturbing  news  to  his  country 
men. 


F  2 


84  PAUL   JONES 

As  has  been  seen,  Portsmouth  was  hospitable,  and 
Portsmouth  entertained  Paul  Jones  to  such  a  degree 
that  he  was  forced  to  write  to  a  friend  to  send  him  a 
particularly  smart  scarlet  coat,  which  he  had  not 
thought  to  have  need  of,  and  some  more  of  a  favourite 
hair  powder,  unobtainable  there,  for  which  "  he  begged 
to  enclose  a  guinea."  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  corre 
spondent  dispatched  the  articles  forthwith,  for  Paul 
was  very  much  of  a  dandy  and  noted  for  the  perfection 
of  his  dress,  and  a  powderless  beau  would  have  been 
too  tragic  to  contemplate. 

But  it  was  his  fate  to  be  here  to-day  and  there  to 
morrow,  and  he  wasted  little  time  in  philandering,  how 
ever  bright  the  eyes.  Though  he  escorted  bevies  of 
charming  and  vivacious  damsels  and  their  duennas  over 
the  Ranger,  and  explained  the  many  wonders  of  the 
craft,  at  which  they  exclaimed,  as  their  sisters  of  the 
present  day  do  under  similar  conditions,  his  one  idea 
was  to  get  to  sea. 

Charming  as  the  tale  of  silken  pennant,  broidered 
by  slender  fingers  for  the  chosen  knight,  is  the  romance 
clinging  to  the  flag  that  fluttered  gaily  on  the  Ranger 
when  she  put  to  sea,  on  a  mission  of  which  none  could 
foretell  the  result.  Fashioned  amid  chat  and  laughter 
at  a  "  quilting  bee,"  planned  and  fitted  with  breathless 
accuracy,  according  to  sketches  made  by  the  hand 
some  captain,  whose  opinion  was  awaited  on  the  im 
portant  subject  with  most  flattering  attention. 
Patriotic  Mistress  Helen  Seavey  contrived  thirteen 
snowy  stars  of  the  "  New  Constellation "  from  the 
dress  she  had  worn  to  the  altar  when  she  wedded  a 


PAUL    JONES 

\F  I'oin  the  original  painting  on  parchment  by  Nottc,  in  the  collection  of  t  lie  antlwi 


PAUL    JONES  85 

dashing  young  officer  of  the  "  New  Hampshire  Line," 
in  May  1777,  a  few  months  ago.  Wanton  destruction, 
thought  Helen's  mamma,  who  had  an  eye  to  future 
utility  and  younger  daughters'  weddings,  and  belonged 
to  that  generation  which  looked  on  the  silk  and  satin 
"gownds"  with  more  deference  than  their  descend 
ants.  The  red  stripes  came  from  a  court  dress,  that 
had  curtseyed  loyally  to  its  king,  alas !  now  a  fallen 
idol. 

The  patriotic  maidens  cut  and  slashed  ruthlessly, 
stitching  the  starry  emblems  on  the  dark  blue  field. 
Merry  parties  were  these  "quilting  bees,"  ending  up 
with  a  substantial  supper,  a  country  dance,  and  a  sly 
stroll  under  the  October  moon  for  a  few  soft  words, 
and  a  "good-bye  to  summer."  Can  we  not  picture 
the  laughing  jests,  the  high  hopes,  the  aspirations 
which  stirred  those  feminine  bosoms,  as  they  stitched 
and  saw  grow  under  their  nimble  fingers  the  flag  they 
were  so  proud  of,  which  Paul  Jones  ever  called  his 
twin,  as  his  commission  was  dated  on  the  same  day 
as  Congress  officially  described  the  flag  to  be  used  in 
place  of  the  old  "  Rattlesnake  "  carried  in  the  early 
days  of  the  Revolution? 

Of  those  charming  and  energetic  workers,  we  know 
the  names  of  but  five  :  Mary  Langdon,  Helen  Seavey, 
Dorothy  Hall,  niece  of  Lieut.  Hall  of  the  Ranger, 
Caroline  Chandler,  and  Augusta  Pierce.  If  the  Cap 
tain  had  any  preference  it  is  not  recorded,  as  he 
devoted  himself  to  the  party  en  masse,  straightening 
a  stripe  that  tried  to  turn  itself  into  an  arabesque,  or 
giving  the  final  decision  as  to  the  placing  of  the 


86  PAUL   JONES 

thirteenth  star.  Every  stitch  was  set  with  a  good  wish 
for  his  success,  and  he  vowed  it  brought  him  luck ! 
He  considered  it  his  personal  belonging,  a  gift  of  his 
well-wishers,  and  took  it  with  him  on  relinquishing  his 
command  of  the  Ranger  in  1778.  When  he  "broke 
his  pennant "  on  the  Bonhomme  Richard  he  flew 
the  flag  of  the  Portsmouth  girls,  and  not  yet  was  its 
distinguished  career  over,  for  it  was  the  first  flag  of 
the  United  States  to  be  saluted  by  the  guns  of  a 
foreign  naval  power.  Strange  still,  it  was  the  "  first 
and  the  last  flag  that  ever  went  down,  or  ever  will  go 
down,  flying  on  a  ship  that  conquered  and  captured 
the  ship  that  sunk  her." 

This  was  the  case,  for  the  Bonhomme  Richard 
forced  the  Serapis  to  surrender  after  a  frightful  battle, 
"the  like  of  which  has  never  been  seen";  being  so 
riddled  that  after  a  few  hours  she  could  not  be  kept 
afloat,  filled  and  went  to  the  bottom.  "  The  very  last 
vestige  mortal  eyes  ever  saw  of  the  Bonhomme 
Richard  was  the  defiant  waving  of  her  unconquered 
and  unstricken  flag  as  she  went  down." 

In  1781  Jones  returned  to  America,  visiting  Mr. 
Ross,  where  he  always  stayed  in  Philadelphia.  There 
he  met  Miss  Langdon,  who  had  been  one  of  the  "  quilt 
ing  bee,"  and  told  her  that  he  had  wished,  above 
anything,  "  to  bring  that  flag  back  to  America,  with  all 
its  glories,  and  give  it  back  untarnished  into  the  fair 
hands  that  had  given  it  to  him  nearly  four  years 
before."  "But,  Miss  Mary,"  he  said,  "I  couldn't 
bear  to  strip  the  poor  old  ship  in  her  last  agony,  nor 
could  I  deny  to  my  dead  on  her  decks,  who  had  given 


PAUL   JONES  87 

their  lives  to  keep  it  flying,  the  glory  of  taking  it  with 
them.5' 

"  You  did  exactly  right,  Commodore !  "  exclaimed 
Miss  Langdon.  "That  flag  is  just  where  we  all  wish 
it  to  be,  flying  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  over  the  only 
ship  that  ever  sunk  in  victory.  If  you  had  taken  it 
from  her  and  brought  it  back  to  us  we  would  hate 
you  !  " 


CHAPTER   VI 

1777 

PAUL  could  not  forget  that  time  was  flying,  and 
controlled  his  impatience  with  difficulty,  so  keen  was 
his  desire  to  be  once  more  at  sea.  Every  rope,  every 
spar  he  had  inspected,  every  gun  tested,  for  some  of 
them  had  been  cast  in  America,  which  was  a  new 
venture,  and  their  worth  had  yet  to  be  proved.  His 
simple  cabin  bore  traces  of  the  handiwork  of  his 
feminine  admirers,  in  those  artless  trifles  which  show 
such  good-will  and  collect  so  much  dust.  The  wise 
acres  predicted  the  Ranger  couFd  not  weather  the 
October  gales,  so  top-heavy  was  she;  advised  Captain 
Jones  to  follow  time-honoured  precedent  and  cut 
down  her  masts,  or  Davy  Jones's  locker  would  be 
his  portion.  But  the  Captain  had  never  known  failure ; 
he  was  young,  and  thirsting  for  adventure,  as  were 
the  crew,  which  he  describes  as  "  the  best  I  have  ever 
seen,  and  I  believe  the  best  crew  afloat;  nearly  all 
are  native  Americans,  and  the  proportion  of  able 
seamen  to  the  total  is  much  beyond  the  average." 

There  was  the  usual  fly  in  the  ointment,  for  the 
United  States  treasury  was  so  poor  there  was  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  getting  materials  for  sails,  and 
Jones  complains  of  the  heavy  gales  while  at  anchor. 
"  The  ship  with  difficulty  rides  it  out,  with  yards  and 
top-masts  struck,  and  whole  cable  ahead.  .When  it 


PAUL   JONES  89 

clears  up  I  expect  the  wind  from  the  north-west,  and 
shall  not  fail  to  embrace  it,  although  I  have  not  now 
a  spare  sail,  nor  materials  to  make  one.  Some  of 
those  I  have  are  made  of  hissings.  I  never  had  so 
disagreeable  a  service  to  perform  as  that  which  I  have 
now  accomplished,  and  of  which  another  will  claim 
the  credit  as  well  as  the  profit.  However,  in  doing 
my  utmost  I  am  sensible  that  I  have  done  no  more 
than  my  duty."  The  deepest  lament  wrung  from  the 
unconquerable  captain  is,  that  the  "  best  crew  I  ever 
saw"  would  be  limited  to  the  entirely  insufficient 
ration  of  "  only  thirty  gallons  of  rum  for  the  voyage." 

A  large  number  of  the  crew  were  Portsmouth  men, 
which  deepened  the  interest  in  the  venture,  and  the 
fame  of  Jones  promised  a  rich  harvest  from  the  sea 
if  all  went  well.  There  had  been  the  usual  haggling 
in  Congress  about  the  allotment  of  the  prizes,  and  a 
reluctance  in  complying  with  the  glowing  terms 
offered  in  the  handbills  posted  about  to  entice  sailors 
to  enlist.  As  soon  as  Jones  arrived  to  take  over  the 
Ranger,  he  was  confronted  with  the  dissatisfaction  of 
forty-three  men,  who  had  been  enlisted  there,  "  caught 
by  the  misstatements  as  to  '  ship  money '  and 
advances,"  which  could  not  be  carried  out  "  under 
the  regulations  of  Congress."  Jones  knew  that  "  no 
such  achievements  are  possible  to  an  unhappy  ship 
with  a  sullen  crew,"  and  instantly  set  about  to  right 
the  grievance  by  addressing  a  letter  to  the  men 
through  Lieutenant  Hall. 

"  I  would  not  deceive  any  man  who  has  entered 
or  may  enter  to  serve  under  my  command.  I 


90  PAUL   JONES 

consider  myself  as  being  under  a  personal  obligation 
to  these  brave  men  who  have  cheerfully  enlisted  to 
serve  with  me,  and  I  accept  their  act  as  proof  of  their 
good  opinion  of  me,  which  I  so  highly  value  that  I  can 
not  permit  it  to  be  dampened  in  the  least  degree  by 
misunderstanding  or  failure  to  perform  engagements. 
If  necessary,  or  to  whatever  extent  it  may  be  neces 
sary,  I  will  personally  undertake,  after  exhausting 
my  proper  powers  in  their  behalf  under  the  regula 
tions,  to  make  good  at  my  own  risk  any  remainder. 
I  wish  all  my  men  to  be  happy  and  contented.  The 
conditions  of  the  handbills  will  be  strictly  complied 
with." 

To  put  matters  on  a  satisfactory  footing,  Jones 
advanced  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  guineas  out 
of  his  own  pocket,  the  repayment  of  which  was 
delayed  until  1782.  This  represented  the  difference 
between  the  £360  which  the  men  should  have  received, 
at  the  rate  of  eight  pounds  apiece  for  thirty 
able  seamen,  and  four  pounds  apiece  for  thirteen 
landsmen  and  boys,  and  the  sum  allowed  them  by 
Congress. 

Jones  impatiently  awaited  the  despatches  he  was  to 
carry  to  France,  the  contents  as  yet  being  a  dark 
secret,  though  Robert  Morris  hinted  their  purport  to 
be  of  immense  political  significance.  The  Marine 
Committee  had  selected  the  Ranger  for  this  mission 
as  she  was  a  fast  sailer,  and  their  experience  of  her 
captain  convinced  them  that  if  human  power  could 
achieve  that  end,  the  despatches  would  be  safely 
delivered  at  their  destination;  for  the  vehement  Paul 


PAUL   JONES  91 

was  at  last  beginning  to  receive  some  recognition 
of  his  fearlessness  and  intrepidity  from  those  who 
controlled  the  United  States  Navy.  The  few  trial 
cruises  Jones  had  made  in  the  Ranger  to  "  shake 
down  his  crew,  set  up  his  rigging,  test  the  set  of  his 
sails,  and  find  out  the  best  trim  of  his  ship  "  proved 
so  satisfactory  that,  save  for  the  lack  of  a  good  many 
essentials,  the  Captain  was  able  to  congratulate  him 
self  on  the  shipshapeness  of  the  Ranger  and  her 
crew. 

At  last  the  news  came  that  on  October  17,  1777, 
General  Bourgoyne's  forces  had  surrendered.  With 
incredible  swiftness  couriers  spread  the  tidings  over 
the  country.  "  From  Stillwater  to  Portsmouth  is  over 
one  hundred  and  forty  miles  as  the  crow  flies,  and  a 
good  hundred  and  seventy  by  the  uncertain  roads, 
and  the  news  reached  Portsmouth  in  thirty  hours; 
brought  by  one  courier,  who  ate  and  slept  in  the 
saddle,  dismounting  only  to  change  horses." 

It  was  not  until  midnight  of  the  3ist  of  October 
that  the  official  despatches  were  placed  in  Paul 
Jones's  hands,  and  before  the  dawn  the  Ranger  had 
dropped  downstream,  and  was  clear  of  the  Isle  of 
Shoals,  ten  miles  off  the  coast,  going  free,  course  east 
by  south,  half  east,  wind  north-west,  blowing  fresh,  the 
sea  cross  and  choppy  from  an  old  swell  of  an  easterly 
gale  two  days  before.  "I  will  spread  this  news  in 
France  in  thirty  days,"  Jones  wrote  on  the  receipt  for 
the  despatches,  which  the  messenger  took  back  in  the 
"  shore  boat,"  listening  enviously  to  the  hearty  cheer 
which  rang  out  on  the  cold,  clear  air  as  the  painter  was 


92  PAUL   JONES 

cast  off,  and  the  little  boat  bobbed  about  in  the  wake 
left  by  the  swift-sailing  Ranger. 

"  During  the  last  two  days'  run  I  took  two  prizes 
bound  from  Madeira  and  Malaga  respectively,  with 
wines  and  dried  fruit,  etc.,  for  London.  I  sent  one  to 
Brest  and  convoyed  the  other  to  Nantes,"  he  informed 
the  Marine  Committee,  stating  at  the  same  time  his 
reason  for  selecting  a  northerly  course,  "which  would 
be  free  from  the  enemy's  cruisers  at  this  time  of  year," 
being  aware  that  the  great  object  of  the  voyage  was 
to  deliver  the  important  news  at  the  earliest  moment 
in  France ;  not  "  wishing  to  be  chased  out  of  my 
course  by  the  enemy's  frigates  with  the  necessary 
accompanying  risk  of  being  captured  or  destroyed." 
His  judgment  was  not  at  fault.  They  met  with  no 
hindrance  of  any  sort;  no  ship  being  sighted  until, 
two  days'  run  west  of  Ushant,  they  "  spoke  a  Dutch 
East  Indiaman  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay.  I  informed  the 
Dutch  captain  of  the  surrender  of  Bourgoyne,  and 
requested  him  to  repeat  the  intelligence  with  my 
compliments  to  any  British  captain  he  might  fall  in 
with,"  he  concludes,  with  a  personal  touch  enlivening 
in  a  dry  official  despatch. 

Paul  Jones  left  no  record  except  the  Ranger's  log, 
but  Lieutenant  Hall  gives  details,  far  from  uninter 
esting,  of  that  "  terrific  voyage." 

"  I  had  sailed  with  many  captains  in  all  kinds  of 
voyages,  but  I  had  never  seen  a  ship  crowded  as 
Captain  Jones  drove  the  Ranger.  .  .  .  Captain  Jones 
held  to  his  northerly  course  as  time  was  the  object, 
though  the  wind  was  adverse,  and  stuck  grimly  to  his 


PAUL   JONES  93 

great  circle,  drawn  between  47°  and  50°  North.  As 
the  wind  hung  all  the  time  between  north-north-east 
and  east-north-east  with  but  a  few  veerings  outside 
those  points,  it  was  always  forward  of  the  beam  on 
the  true  course,  and  often  near  dead  ahead.  Imagine, 
then,  the  situation  of  the  Ranger's  crew,  with  a  top- 
heavy  and  crank  ship  under  their  feet,  and  a  com 
mander  who  day  and  night  insisted  on  every  rag  she 
could  stagger  under  without  laying  clear  down  ! 

"As  it  was,  she  came  close  to  beam  ends  more 
than  once,  and  on  one  occasion  righted  only  by  letting 
fly  sheets  cut  with  hatchets.  During  all  this  trying 
work  Captain  Jones  was  his  own  navigating  officer, 
keeping  the  deck  eighteen  or  twenty  hours  out  of  every 
twenty-four,  often  serving  extra  grog  to  the  men  with 
his  own  hands,  and  by  his  example  silencing  all  dis 
position  to  grumble.  In  the  worst  of  it  the  watch  was 
lap-watched  so  that  the  men  would  be  eight  hours 
on  and  four  off;  but  no  one  complained." 

Mr.  Hall  was  right  when  he  says,  "  It  speaks  well 
alike  for  commander  and  crew  that  not  a  man  was 
punished,  or  even  severely  reprimanded,  during  this 
'  terrific  voyage.' '  It  would,  indeed,  have  kept  Satan 
on  the  alert  to  discover  those  "  idle  hands  "  for  which 
he  so  obligingly  finds  employment.  Hard  pressed 
as  the  crew  were,  they  had  time  for  an  occasional 
"sing-song,"  and  Midshipman  Charley  Hill  produced 
a  song,  on  which  Jones  comments,  "  that  while  the  text 
is  rude  in  some  parts  and  the  language  in  one  line 
not  quite  polite,"  was  a  great  favourite  in  the  fore 
castle,  and  afterwards  throughout  the  Revolutionary 


94  PAUL   JONES 

Navy.  One  verse,  of  which,  alas  !  we  have  not  the 
tune,  is  as  follows — 

"SONG   OF   THE   RANGER 
"  Carry  the  News  to  London 

11  So  now  we  had  him  hard  and  fast, 
Bourgoyne  laid  down  his  Arms  at  Last, 
And  that  is  why  we  brave  the  blast, 

To  carry  the  news  to  London  ! 
Heigh-ho  !  car — r — y  the  News  ! 

Go  !  Carry  the  News  to  London. 

Tell  old  King  George  he's  undone  ! 
Heigh-ho  !  car — r — y  the  News  !  " 

A  truly  rollicking  chorus,  startling  the  fishes  from 
their  after-dinner  slumbers,  as  the  Ranger  cut  through 
the  water,  bent  on  her  mission,  "  To  Carry  the  News 
to  London." 

There  was  only  one  accident,  Solomon  Hutchings, 
who  had  his  leg  broken  by  a  "  spar  getting  adrift." 
There  was  not  a  soul  on  the  sick  list  throughout  the 
voyage,  and  the  Captain  concluded  his  report  with  the 
information  :  "  I  shall  have  the  honour  of  calling  your 
attention  more  particularly  to  the  excellent  behaviour 
of  all  my  officers  and  men  in  a  later  report.  For  the 
present  suffice  to  say,  that  without  exception  their 
conduct  left  nothing  to  be  desired." 

The  "terrific  voyage"  ended  when  the  Ranger 
dropped  anchor  in  the  Loire,  below  Nantes,  at  sun 
set,  on  the  2nd  of  December,  1777,  and  the  ambitious 
Scotchman  felt  that  at  last  the  nebulous  dreams  of 
years  were  about  to  materialise. 


CHAPTER   VII 

1777 

DESPITE  the  storm  and  stress  of  his  voyage  Paul 
learned,  with  some  chagrin,  from  Dr.  Franklin  on  his 
arrival  at  Paris,  December  5th,  that  the  news  of  Bur- 
goyne's  surrender  had  been  brought  by  John  Loring 
Austen  of  Boston,  who  sailed  in  a  French  merchant 
man  from  that  port  early  on  the  morning  of  Octo 
ber  30.  Though  a  personal  disappointment,  it  made 
little  difference  to  Jones,  as  Austen's  despatches  were 
unofficial.  The  plucky  Scotchman  had  the  renown 
of  that  "  terrific  voyage,"  and  brought  details  of  Bur- 
goyne's  surrender,  which  Austen  had  no  time  to  learn. 

There  was  the  usual  tempest  in  the  tea-pot  of  those 
excellent  gentlemen,  the  Commissioners  of  the  United 
States  of  America  :  Arthur  Lee,  one  of  the  Commis 
sioners,  accusing  Dr.  Bancroft  of  using  his  prior  know 
ledge  of  the  contents  of  the  despatches  for  stock 
jobbing  transactions  in  London  and  Paris,  before  the 
news  became  public.  He  insinuated  this  was  not 
unknown  to  Dr.  Franklin  himself.  This  Jones 
proved,  by  later  investigation,  to  be  untrue,  and  a  plan 
of  Lee's  to  shatter  the  friendship  existing  between 
the  two  men.  It  was  Jones's  opinion  that  "  there  were 
some  deductions  as  to  both  the  strategical  and  the 
domestic  political  effects  of  the  surrender  which  our 
subsequent  conversation  proved  to  be  more  clearly 

95 


96  PAUL   JONES 

drawn  in  my  mind  than  in  Mr.  Austen's.  But  this 
was  doubtless  due  to  the  difference  in  our  experience 
and  training.  Among  other  things  it  was  evident  that 
Mr.  Austen  did  not  at  the  moment  quite  share  my 
views  as  to  the  decisive  effect  the  event  must  have 
upon  the  morale  of  our  people  themselves,  and  the 
far-reaching  elation  of  spirit  it  must  impart  to  our 
armed  force  by  land  and  sea." 

The  charm  of  Paris  more  than  consoled  the  adven 
turous  captain  for  his  annoyance.  The  feeling  of 
being,  at  last,  so  near  his  longed-for  goal  made  hope 
sing  high  in  his  breast,  as  he  gazed  out  of  the  window 
of  the  house  where  the  American  envoys  lived,  in  the 
Rue  Verte,  near  the  Place  Beauveau.  This  hotel 
they  occupied,  free  of  all  expense,  thanks  to  the  lavish 
courtesy  of  M.  le  Ray  de  Chaumont,  Grand  Maitre 
des  Eaux  et  Forets,  and  Intendant  des  Invalides^ 
who,  despite  the  offices  he  held  under  the  Crown, 
belonged  to  the  advanced  political  party.  Although 
his  later  behaviour  to  Paul  Jones  was  the  reverse  of 
pleasant,  at  this  period  he  was  extraordinarily  gener 
ous  to  the  Commissioners.  For  the  two  years  they 
were  engaged  in  secret  negotiations  with  the  Court 
at  Versailles,  not  only  did  he  provide  them  with 
lodging  and  furniture,  free  of  all  cost,  but  sent  large 
consignments  of  supplies  and  sums  of  money  to  the 
United  States.  When  Mr.  Adams  finally  asked  him 
to  name  a  sum  for  the  rent  of  his  house,  as  it  was 
not  "reasonable  that  the  United  States  should  be 
under  so  great  an  obligation  to  a  private  gentleman," 
he  replied,  that  "  when  he  had  consecrated  his  house 


PAUL   JONES  97 

to  Dr.  Franklin  and  his  associates,  he  had  made  it  to 
be  fully  understood  that  he  should  expect  no  com 
pensation,  because  he  perceived  that  they  had  need 
of  all  their  means  to  send  to  the  succour  of  their 
country  .  .  .  There  was  no  occasion,"  he  said,  "  for 
strangers  to  be  informed  of  his  proceeding.  He 
considered  the  house  had  been  immortalised  by 
receiving  into  it  Dr.  Franklin  and  his  associates." 
Strange  to  say,  through  the  vicissitudes  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  with  its  seizure  of  all  property  by  the  sans-cidottes 
and  the  many  political  regimes  France-  has  passed 
through,  the  house  stands  to-day  bearing  in  large 
golden  letters  the  legend  "  Franklin's  Hotel,"  a  tribute 
to  the  heavy-jawed  old  Quaker  who  once  lived  there. 
Looking  at  it  from  a  certain  point  of  view  it  is  a  com 
mentary  on  the  uncertainties  of  this  world,  and  a 
monument  to  Franklin,  who  enjoyed  an  unheard  of 
popularity  with  the  volatile  French. 

A  busy  street  the  Rue  Penthievre  of  to-day,  a  busy 
street  it  was  then,  under  the  name  of  Rue  Verte; 
thronged  from  morn  till  night  with  vendors  crying 
aloud  their  wares  to  tempt  the  passers  to  buy.  For 
those  who  required  the  luxury  of  a  bath  there  were 
two  men,  drawing  the  ubiquitous  charrette,  laden  with 
tub  and  the  proper  quantity  of  hot  water,  who  con 
ducted  the  same  up  endless  flights  of  worn,  polished 
stairs,  thankfully  receiving  the  small  gratuity,  which 
their  descendants  would  now  treat  with  haughty  con 
tempt.  Old  women  lauded  their  cabbages  and  more 
refined  delicacies;  the  trim  waiting-maids,  who  never, 
no  matter  how  muddy  the  streets — and  this  was  before 


98  PAUL   JONES 

the  days  of  side-walks — seemed  to  get  a  spot  on  their 
immaculate  stockings,  tripped  mincingly  across  the 
worn  stones.  The  cry  of  the  marc  hand  dhabits  was 
shrill  and  piercing  enough,  but  when  the  lusty  damsel, 
who  carried  a  broken  cane-seated  chair  slung  across 
her  shoulders  in  token  of  her  calling,  uplifted  her 
voice  in  a  volume  of  piercing  sound,  Paul  hastily 
clapped  his  hands  over  his  ears,  lest  his  head  should 
be  split  by  the  noise.  A  fair,  rosy  wench  she  was,  and 
for  full  five  minutes  after  she  had  faded  into  the  crowd 
her  weird  cry  could  be  heard  over  the  tumult  of  that 
busy  quarter. 

There  was  much  to  amuse  the  observant  stranger 
— the   way   you   could   hire   umbrellas   from   an   old 
woman,  who  had  the  official  concession,  and,   for  a 
few  sous,  protect  your  headgear  from  the  elements; 
the   happy-go-lucky  way   in  which   daily   intercourse 
jogged  along,  the  endless  conversations  required  for 
the  slightest  purchase;  the  gaily  painted  ladies  who 
plied  their  vocation  without  undue  mystery,  when  not 
in  fear  of  the  lynx  eye  of  authority.     Throngs  of 
midinettes,   who   swarmed   from   nowhere,   when   the 
magic  hour  released  them,  to   liven  the  street  with 
their    magpie    chatter,    their    shrill    laughter    at    the 
badinage  of  the  crowd,  their  utter  absence  of  self- 
consciousness,   which  was  refreshing.      It  was   from 
these,  he  mused,  the  du  Barri  had  come,  to  drag  the 
name  of  France's  king  as  low  as  name  of  king  had 
ever  sunk  in  the  history  of  the  world.   .   .  The  day  was 
crisp,  clear,  exhilarating,  and  yet  mild,  as  sometimes 
happens  in  Paris  in  December,  and  the  chestnut-sellers 


PAUL   JONES  99 

did  a  roaring  trade  as  they  stood  on  the  corners,  cry 
ing  their  wares.  Strangely  unfamiliar  was  the  scene 
to  the  man  who,  for  the  last  few  years,  had  lived  the 
life  of  a  planter,  with  only  occasional  visits  to  towns 
of  the  new  world,  with  their  glaring  crudity  and 
absence  of  romance. 

There  is,  and  always  will  be,  a  certain  glamour 
brought  up  by  the  word  Paris ;  not  in  the  new  quar 
ters,  where  one  hears  more  English  than  French,  but 
in  the  delightful  and,  alas !  fast  disappearing  old 
streets,  with  their  uncomfortable  -pave  and  strange 
smells ;  where  big  arched  gateways  afford  glimpses  of 
court  within  court,  and  the  thousands  of  chimneys 
send  forth  slender  streams  of  pungent  wood  smoke  to 
scent  the  clear,  thin  air. 

From  the  instant  of  his  arrival  Paul  Jones  found 
the  hours  too  short  for  all  he  hoped  to  do.  France 
was  at  the  dividing  ways,  pausing,  before  declaring 
herself  for  or  against  the  new  republic.  The  political 
game  had  to  be  played  with  a  masterly  hand.  The 
three  French  parties  distrusted  themselves  and  each 
other,  and  there  were  "  rifts  within  the  lute."  The 
extreme  party,  hailing  everything  republican  with  wild 
acclaim,  headed  by  the  Due  de  Chartres,  Lafayette, 
the  Prince  de  Poix,  and  other  headstrong  young 
nobles,  arranged  the  affairs  of  the  nation  over  their 
convivial  suppers  at  V E-pec  du  Bois,  and  bent  on 
ruining  themselves  boldly  and  openly  from  the  first, 
upheld  the  revolt  of  the  colonists  against  their  King. 
The  Due  de  Chartres,  Louis  XVFs  cousin,  was  the 
soul  of  this  party,  which  it  is  said  he  upheld  from 


G  2 


100  PAUL   JONES 

motives  of  policy,  as  he  was  in  the  line  of  (direct 
succession  to  the  throne  after  his  father,  the  Due 
d'Orleans. 

The  second  party,  more  hesitating,  with  the  King 
as  leader,  hated  England  and  hoped  to  see  her  power 
broken,  helping  the  Americans  with  this  end  in  view 
rather  than  from  any  love  of  themselves.  Bitter  at 
the  defeat  of  the  French  in  Canada  and  the  loss  of 
French  possessions  in  India,  they  longed  to  see  a 
dreaded  rival  forced  from  her  high  estate,  no  matter 
by  what  means.  In  this  party  were  the  younger  sons 
of  the  nobility,  the  poor  and  ambitious  officers  of  the 
army  and  navy  and  a  large  following  from  the  middle 
classes  who  had  nothing  to  lose.  There  were  certain 
statesmen  who  agreed  with  the  short-sighted  King  in 
encouraging  the  subjects  of  another  king  to  revolt, 
little  dreaming  that  the  bitter  drama  would  one  day 
be  enacted  at  home.  Vauguyon,  Luzerne  and  Males- 
herbes  were  of  this  party,  which  included  Mirabeau 
and  a  host  of  lesser  lights. 

The  third  party  was  that  of  the  Queen,  poor  Marie 
Antoinette,  who  is  accused  of  being  a  scatterbrain  and 
help  up  as  the  example  of  frivolity,  when,  in  truth, 
she  was  the  only  one  who  possessed  enough  intuition 
to  see  to  what  all  this  was  leading.  The  instinct  of 
a  long  line  of  kings  revolted  at  the  madness  of 
encouraging  the  masses  in  the  belief  that  the  Divine 
Right  of  Kings  could  be  questioned;  but  she  was  an 
unheeded  atom  in  the  maelstrom  of  those  who  had 
their  own  ends  to  gain.  In  reality  the  Queen  was 
simple  and  democratic,  but  she  was  not  French,  and 


PAUL   JONES  1.01 

so  her  views  and  her  warnings  went  unheeded.  In 
her  party  were  certain  factions  of  the  courtiers,  the 
clergy,  and  the  following  such  classes  wielded. 

The  arrival  of  the  news  of  Burgoyne's  defeat  had  a 
decisive  effect  on  French  policy.  The  party  headed 
by  de  Chartres  and  Lafayette  could  not  be  restrained, 
and  completely  obliterated  the  more  moderate  ones  of 
the  King  and  Queen  in  their  enthusiasm.  On  the  7th 
of  December  the  despatches  were  communicated  to 
the  Court  at  Versailles,  and  on  January  17,  1778,  the 
King  approved  the  preliminary  articles  of  the  "  Treaty 
of  Alliance  "  with  the  exception  of  the  clause  stipulat 
ing  that  France  should  not  undertake  the  re-conquest 
of  Canada.  The  irresolute  monarch  soon  gave  in  to 
his  advisers,  and  on  February  6,  1773^  the  treaty  was 
signed  at  Versailles.  There  was  no  more  temporising; 
France  was  committed  to  stand  by  her  new  ally  and 
abide  the  result. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

1777 

IT  seems  odd  that,  save  for  the  fleeting  amours  of 
the  sailor,  there  is  no  woman's  name  linked  with  that 
of  the  gallant  Paul  Jones  in  his  early  life.  Rover 
as  he  was,  he  could  have  had  his  choice  of  the  fair  in 
many  strange  lands,  from  the  prim  Puritan,  to  the 
more  informal,  grass  petticoated,  bead-necklaced, 
dusky  belle  of  the  tropics.  Was  there  some  hidden 
love  ?  Is  it  she  to  whom  he  alludes  in  his  letter  to  the 
Countess  of  Selkirk  as  "hopes  of  a  domestic  bliss"? 
All  is  now  so  vague  that  we  shall  have  to  be  content 
with  the  romantic  and  very  intense  affair  which  kept 
his  heart  in  France  until  the  day  of  his  death. 

Aimee  de  Telusson,  a  fit  love  for  this  man  of 
mystery  and  strange  fascination,  was  a  king's 
daughter.  Supported  by  a  pension  from  the  Court, 
and  living  with  her  protectress,  Madame  de  Marsan, 
under  the  patronage  of  great  ladies,  such  as  the 
Duchesse  de  Chartres,  the  Queen,  Madame  de  Lafa 
yette  and  others,  she  enjoyed  a  unique  position  in 
society. 

Louis  XV,  of  gay  memory,  had  in  his  service 
a  confidential  valet — sometimes  called  by  a  more 
classical  name — le  Bel,  who,  in  company  with  Madame 
de  Pompadour,  looked  after  the  well-being  of  that 
unique  retreat,  le  pare  aux  cerfs,  and  saw  that 


102 


PAUL   JONES  103 

the  inmates  thereof  were,  literally,  "to  the  King's 
taste."  Le  Bel,  one  day  lounging  about  the  gardens 
of  the  Tuileries,  ever  with  an  eye  on  the  main  chance, 
saw  a  most  lovely  child,  about  twelve  years  of  age. 
After  some  negotiation  he  bought  her  from  her  parents, 
who  were  impoverished  members  of  the  lesser  nobility 
of  Provence,  and  assumed  all  the  expenses  of  her 
education.  She  was  put  in  the  hands  of  a  Madame 
Bertrand,  who  taught  her  the  polite  accomplishments 
and  what  she  considered  fitting,  and  the  girl  passed 
two  years  under  her  influence,  growing  more  beautiful 
as  time  went  on.  When  she  was  fourteen  it  was 
arranged  that  she  should  be  introduced  into  the 
palace  by  the  accommodating  le  Bel,  where  she  at  once 
charmed  the  critical  and  jaded  taste  of  the  blase  King, 
and,  with  the  connivance  of  Madame  de  Pompadour, 
always  obliging  in  these  affairs,  was  given  apartments 
in  the  vast  palace,  where  one  girl  more  or  less  was  not 
hee'deH. 

Louis  XV,  unlike  his  illustrious  grandfather,  had 
a  saving  and  thrifty  disposition.  His  predecessor 
had  legitimised  and  dowered  the  large  family  of  natural 
children  of  whom  he  was  the  reputed  father,  so  they 
finally  became  a  fearful  drain  on  France,  and  a  scan'dal 
to  the  Courts  of  Europe.  But  this  King  inherited 
the  thrift  of  his  mother,  Adelaide  of  Savoie,  and  when 
such  a  contretemps  happened,  gave  the  lady  a  speci 
fied  sum  of  money,  a  present  of  jewels,  and  there  the 
matter  en'ded.  He  never  saw  mother  or  child  again. 
More  often  than  not,  the  girls  were  able  to  marry  very 
well,  for  the  dowry  provided  by  the  King  closed  the 


104  PAUL   JONES 

eyes  of  would-be  husbands  to  early  misfortunes. 
Madame  de  Pompadour  generally  manage'd  these 
manages  dc  convcnancc,  as  she  did  the  fare  aux  cerfs, 
and  other  details  of  the  secret  history  of  the  palace. 

A  strange  connection,  that — a  royal  lover,  bored  with 
his  mistress,  yet  retreading  the  familiar  way  to  her 
apartments  from  sheer  force  of  habit.  The  favourite, 
weary  of  the  monarch,  but  clinging  to  her  empire, 
cared  so  little  that  she  found  playthings  for  him,  and 
by  this  cunning  in  providing  the  toy  of  an  hour,  was 
able  to  keep  her  inflexible  hand  on  the  reins  of  power, 
which  she  so  long  and  so  despotically  handled. 
With  her  lettres-de-cachet,  her  court  of  sycophants, 
her  undisputed  power,  la  Marquise  de  Pompadour  was 
satisfied.  She  had  never  been  a  woman  of  amorous 
temperament,  and  her  confidences  about  the  chocolate 
are  both  spicy  and  edifying. 

Mademoiselle  He  Tiercelin,  upon  being  taken  under 
the  King's  protection,  was  commanded  to  assume  the 
name  of  de  Bonneval.  The  King  behaved  generously 
to  her  when  her  brief  reign  was  over,  providing  amply 
for  the  child,  which  was  born  in  1758.  Mademoiselle 
'de  Bonneval,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  found  herself  with 
a  daughter  and  a  personal  annuity  of  twelve  thousand 
livres  a  year,  separate  provision  being  ma'de  for  the 
child.  Shortly  after  this  the  Due  de  Choiseul,  for 
some  reason  which  does  not  seem  very  clear,  accuses 
de  Tiercelin  of  being  in  correspondence  with 
Frederick  the  Great's  Court,  and  sends  him  and  his 
daughter  to  the  Bastille.  Thanks  to  her  powerful 
protector,  the  lady  was  released  immediately.  It  is 


PAUL   JONES  105 

not  unlikely  the  pretext  of  corresponding  with 
Frederick  the  Great  was  used  as  a  cloak  for  de 
Tiercelin's  disappearance,  as  he  was  inclined  to  boast 
and  presume  on  the  fact  of  being  grandfather  to  the 
child  of  a  king.  The  bar-sinister  was  no  drawback 
in  the  eyes  of  the  many,  and  once  before  for  the 
same  reason  he  had  been  obliged  to  retire  to  the 
shadows  of  the  Bastille. 

Madame  de  Pompadour  in  1761  arranged  a 
marriage  for  "  Mademoiselle  de  Bonneval "  with  an 
official  in  the  Chancellene  de  la  Marine,  a  M.  de 
Telluson,  widower  with  two  children,  and  her  child 
was  afterwards  known  by  this  name.  So  we  come  to 
Aimee  de  Telusson. 

The  girl  was  well  educated,  thanks  to  the  provision 
of  the  King,  constantly  under  the  unsparing  eye  of 
the  Pompadour,  and  shared  the  every-day  life  of  her 
mother's  step-children.  Possibly  Madame  He  Pompa 
dour  had  her  part  in  life  arranged,  but  that  lady's 
death  in  1764  altered  the  complexion  of  her  future. 
All  went  well  until  she  reached  the  age  of  sixteen,  in 
1774,  when  her  father,  the  King,  died  in  circumstances 
too  generally  known  to  need  relating.  In  a  moment 
Aimee  was  without  income  of  any  sort,  though  her 
mother's  annuity  continued.  It  seems  odd  that  this 
money,  which,  like  the  allowance  for  her  daughter's 
maintenance  and  education,  was  paid  out  of  the 
King's  privy  purse,  should  have  been  continued  by 
Louis  XVI,  while  Aimee  was  left  penniless.  There 
were  ructions  of  some  sort,  for  Mademoiselle  de 
Telusson  instantly  left  her  step-father's  house  to  live 


106  PAUL   JONES 

with  the  Marquise  de  Marsan,  who  treated  her  as  a 
daughter.  Her  education  was  lavishly  completed  by 
the  generosity  of  this  good  lady,  and  Aimee's  passion 
for  music  encouraged  in  every  way.  She  sang  charm 
ingly  and  was,  later,  "  spoken  of  as  the  most  finished 
performer  on  the  guitar  at  Court." 

Though  without  fortune,  she  did  not  lack'  suitors, 
but,  with  the  indifference  of  a  girl  who  has  never  loved, 
paid  little  heeH  to  their  wooing.  To  those  who 
delight  in  constancy,  it  may  be  said  that  Paul  Jones 
was  her  first  lover,  her  only  love.  It  was  at  a  ball 
given  by  the  Duchesse  de  Chartres  in  1778  that  Aimee 
first  met  the  man  of  whom  France  was  talking. 

Paul,  from  all  accounts,  was  very  much  of  a  ladies' 
man;  as  keen  a  pursuer  of  Venus  as  in  war  he  was 
a  follower  of  Mars.  He  ha'd  only  to  pick  and  choose, 
and  Hanced  from  flower  to  flower  like  the  lightest 
butterfly  of  fashion.  There  were  adoring  'dames  and 
'damsels  rea'dy  to  strew  his  path  with  roses  and  cast 
themselves  under  the  wheels  of  the  conqueror's  chariot 
at  a  nod  from  the  head  they  would  fain  have  weightecl 
with  laurels.  But  the  Captain  was  wise  in  his  genera 
tion,  and,  though  he  burned  his  incense  at  many  a 
shrine,  was  most  circumspect. 

The  "  dashing  Comtesse  He  la  Van'dhal  "  seemed 
to  have  no  objection  to  in'dulge  a  little  harmless 
gallantry  on  the  part  of  the  famous  American 
Commodore.  She  was  a  clever  miniature  painter,  one 
of  Van  der  Huyt's  pupils,  and  either  she  or  her  master 
painted  the  best  miniature  of  the  hero  which  exists. 
This  she  gave  to  Jones,  who  declared  himself  so 


PAUL   JONES  107 

enraptured  with  the  work  of  art  that  he  was  like  a 
"second  Narcissus,  in  love  with  his  own  resemblance." 
He  spared  no  effort  to  make  himself  popular,  at  the 
same  time  not  completely  hiding  his  -penchant  for 
Mademoiselle  de  Telusson  from  eyes  that  had  no 
other  aim  in  life  than  to  ferret  out  the  secrets  of 
those  who  surrounded  them.  From  her  parentage 
Aimee  de  Telusson  enjoyed  a  certain  notoriety, 
making  her  movements  remarked  inseparably  from 
the  sensation  caused  by  her  beauty,  which  was  of  a 
most  striking  type.  Allowing  for  that  difference  be 
tween  masculine  and  feminine  good  looks,  she  may 
be  said  to  have  strongly  resembled  her  father,  who  as 
a  youth  was  considered  the  ideal  of  manly  perfection. 
She  was  "petite,  extremely  vivacious,  and  of  most 
charming  temper,  and  possessed  of  all  the  polite 
accomplishments."  Her  hair,  which  fell  in  rippling 
masses  almost  to  the  ground,  was  of  a  "  deep  auburn, 
often  in  a  bright  light  having  the  hue  of  red  gold." 
Her  eyes  "  were  large,  dark  and  lustrous,  and  her  com 
plexion  the  perfection  of  pink  and  white,  and — most 
important  detail  in  feminine  eyes— "  though  in  her 
twenty-sixth  year,  she  passes  everywhere  for  a  girl  of 
twenty,"  the  description  being  written  about  1784. 
Thanks  to  her  lover's  interest,  she  perfected  herself 
in  English  and  also  Spanish,  singing  melting  little 
ballads  in  the  tongue  of  fair  Andalusia,  to  the  soft 
strum  of  the  guitar,  an  instrument  undeniably  invented 
for  the  display  of  her  charms. 

There  has  been  much  speculation  as  to  the  relations 
of  this  extraordinary  pair;  the  child  of  a  king — and 


108  PAUL   JONES 

Paul  Jones.  From  what  is  known  of  the  manners  of 
the  late  eighteenth  century,  the  tempestuous  emotions 
of  a  man  of  his  type  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  a  girl 
of  her  ancestry,  speculation  seems  idle.  The  affair 
lasted  fourteen  years,  until  his  death  in  1792.  It 
endured  through  absence,  through  the  miserable  farce 
of  his  command  in  the  Russian  navy,  where,  for  two 
years,  he  never  received  a  letter  from  her  or  from 
one  of  his  friends,  so  determined  were  his  enemies 
to  cut  him  off  from  the  world.  Aware  of  the  espionage 
to  which  all  correspondence  was  subjected  in  France, 
his  epistles  are  models  of  discretion.  He  writes  of 
her  frequently  in  his  letters  to  Jefferson,  some  ten 
years  later,  when  the  latter  was  American  Minister  to 
France,  and  Paul  in  New  York.  He  provided  finan 
cially  for  her,  when  by  Madame  de  Marsan's  death  she 
was  left  penniless,  and,  well  aware  that  the  contents 
of  his  letter  would  be  back-stairs  gossip  before  it 
reached  the  "  fair  mourner,"  wrote  to  console  her  in 
the  pedantic  style  then  in  vogue. 

"New  York,  September  4,  1787. 

"  MY  DEAR  MADAME, 

"  No  language  can  convey  to  my  fair  mourner 
the  tender  sorrow  I  feel  on  her  account.  The  loss 
of  our  worthy  and  noble  friend  is  indeed  a  fatal 
stroke !  It  is  an  irreparable  misfortune  which  can 
only  be  alleviated  by  the  one  reflection  that  it  is  the 
will  of  God,  whose  providence  I  hope  may  yet  have 
blessings  in  store  for  us.  The  noble  Marquise  was 
more  than  a  mother  to  you.  .We  have  lost  her.  Let 


PAUL   JONES  109 

us  cherish  her  memory,  and  send  up  grateful  thanks 
to  the  Almighty  that  we  once  had  such  a  friend." 

Through  the  influence  of  her  friends  at  Court,  it 
had  been  arranged  some  time  previously  that  Made 
moiselle  de  Telusson  should  be  received  by  the  King, 
who,  it  was  hoped  in  the  circumstances,  would  order 
some  provision  to  be  made  for  her,  and  this  Jones 
alludes  to,  saying— 

"  I  cannot  but  flatter  myself  that  you  have  yourself 
gone  to  the  King  in  July,  as  he  appointed  audience  for 
you.  I  am  sure  that  your  present  loss  and  bereave 
ment  will  newly  induce  him  to  protect  you  and  render 
to  you  justice.  He  will  hear  you,  I  am  sure,  and  you 
may  safely  unbosom  yourself  to  him,  telling  him 
frankly  all  your  relations,  and  asking  his  advice,  which 
cannot  but  be  agreeable  to  him  to  give  you." 

Is  it  probable  that  the  suggestion,  "  tell  him  all  your 
relations,"  could  point  to  the  fact  of  a  contemplated 
marriage  between  the  lovers?  Or  was  she  to  explain 
to  the  King  the  already  existing  relations?  The  only- 
other  "relations"  Aimee  had,  were  her  half-sisters, 
her  step-father  and  mother,  and  Jones  would  not  have 
troubled  himself  about  them.  And,  again,  why  did 
they  never  marry?  Though  Mademoiselle  de  Telus 
son  had  no  fortune,  the  Chevalier,  as  he  was  then,  had 
means  for  an  establishment,  and  with  his  opportunities 
could  have  assured  his  future. 

A  streak  of  jealousy  creeps  out  in  the  advice,  "  Tell 
him  "  —the  King—  "that  you  must  now  look  to  him  as 
your  father  and  protector.  If  it  were  necessary,  I 


110  PAUL    JONES 

think  that  the  Comte  d'Artois,  his  brother,  would  on 
your  personal  application  render  you  good  office  by 
speaking  in  your  favour.  I  should  like  it  better,  how 
ever,  if  you  do  without  him."  This  is  rather  amusing, 
as  the  Comte  d'Artois  was  in  reality  a  nephew,  a  la 
main  gauche,  to  Aimee.  Canny  Paul,  like  the  rest  of 
the  world,  knew  the  reputation  borne  by  this  prince, 
whose  affability  towards  all  charming  dames  made 
him  as  popular  among  the  ladies  of  the  Court  as  with 
those  of  the  opera,  for  whose  entertainment  he  spared 
no  expense  in  furnishing  those  wonderful  pctites 
maisons,  which  scandalous  whispers  proclaimed  more 
amazing  than  the  glories  of  the  Arabian  Nights. 

Paul  laments  the  depression  prevailing  in  the 
United  States  in  1787,  "where  for  thirty-six  thousand 
livres  of  prime  securities  I  am  offered  fifteen  thou 
sand,"  declaring  himself  "puzzled  for,  and  at  this 
moment  almost  without,  money,"  and,  while  not 
"  resourceless  by  any  means,  cannot  realise  on  my 
securities  quickly  without  sacrifices/ 1  am  not  willing 
to  make. 

:c  I  have  written  to  Dr.  Bancroft  in  London,  who 
has  in  his  hands  over  forty  thousand  livres  for  me  in 
ready  cash,  to  assist  me  in  meeting  your  present  needs. 
When  this  reaches  you,  call  on  M.  le  Grand,  and 
presenting  this  as  a  credential,  ask  him  to  hand  you 
4000  livres  from  my  Holland  account.  He  will  know 
what  that  means.  I  enclose  a  bit  of  paper  in  cipher 
with  my  signature.  I  need  not  translate  it  to  you, 
but  it  is  a  form  of  order  for  the  amount  mentioned. 

"  I   do  this  and   mention  these   facts  with  infinite 


PAUL   JONES  111 

regret,  and  for  no  other  reason  than  because  it  is 
impossible  for  me  to  transmit  to  you  an  adequate 
supply  under  my  present  circumstances. 

"  This  is  my  fifth  letter  to  you  since  I  left 
Paris.  .  .  . 

"  Finally,  my  dearest  friend,  summon  all  your 
resolution.  Exert  yourself  and  plead  your  own  cause. 
You  cannot  fail  of  success.  The  justice  of  your  cause 
and  the  charm  of  your  entreaties  would  move  a  heart 
of  flint !  .  .  .  Present  my  tender  respects  to  your 
sister.  ...  I  persuade  myself  that  she  will  continue 
her  tender  care  of  her  sweet  little  godson  and  that 
you  will  cover  him  all  over  with  kisses  from  me.  .  .  ." 

Who  was  the  "  sweet  little  godson  "  whom  the  writer 
wished  to  have  covered  with  kisses?  There  was 
such  a  holocaust  of  every  kind  of  record  during  the 
Revolution,  that  what  proof  there  may  have  been  has 
vanished;  we  can  only  surmise.  There  is  the  ques 
tion,  if  there  was  a  child,  why  is  there  not  even  the 
briefest  mention  of  him  in  all  the  voluminous  papers 
the  Chevalier  left? 

It  is  quite  probable  that  the  child  died  from  one  of 
the  many  infantile  complaints  so  little  understood 
then,  or,  that  the  papers  relating  to  him,  if  he  was 
their  child,  were  destroyed  by  Aimee  or  perished  in 
the  Revolution,  which  carried  everything  relating  to 
law  and  order  before  its  tidal  wave,  on  which,  at  last, 
we  lose  sight  of  the  fair  Aimee  herself. 

Being  always  in  the  glare  of  publicity,  if  the  child 
was  hers,  it  is  odd  that  he  was  not  even  alluded  to 
by  some  of  the  light  pens  scratching  so  incessantly. 


112  PAUL   JONES 

There  was  little  fuss  made  about  a  child  born  in  or 
out  of  wedlock,  for,  if  all  accounts  are  to  be  believed, 
the  chubby  little  cherubs  appeared  in  families  with 
the  promiscuousness  of  rabbits.  Mademoiselle  'de 
Telusson's  step-sister,  just  mentioned,  was  some  years 
her  senior,  and  the  wife  of  an  officer  in  the  Marine 
Artillery,  the  Chevalier  de  Thouvenot. 

There  are  constant  allusions  to  Aimee  and  the 
Chevalier  Jones  in  the  memoirs  written  around  1787, 
when  he  came  to  France  as  agent  to  adjust  the  un 
settled  prize-money  claims.  Some  say  he  never  lived 
under  the  same  roof  with  her,  merely  cherishing  her 
with  his  natural  tender  gallantry  towards  all  women. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  add  that  this  anaemic  view  of  their 
relations  is  not  the  suggestion  of  their  French  con 
temporaries.  Like  most  women  of  her  ardent  colour 
ing,  she  was  not  lacking  in  temperament.  She  could 
hate,  and  she  could  love.  The  charm  of  royal  blood 
was  hers,  and  at  times  a  touch  of  quick,  though  un 
conscious  arrogance,  which  would  not  have  disgraced 
her  father,  displayed  over  some  trivial  concern, 
charmed  and  amused  her  lover,  who  in  the  end  she 
would  cajole  with  an  imploring  appeal  for  the  opinion 
of  "  mon  Paul."  She  was  a  woman  of  great  intelli 
gence,  and  no  small  aid  in  guiding  her  lover  through 
those  niceties  of  French  society  to  which,  from  her 
childhood,  she  had  been  accustomed,  and  that  Paul 
never  made  a  faux  pas  may  be  owing  to  this  feminine 
influence. 

She  was  a  remarkable  woman,  this  dainty  Aimee, 
with  her  rippling  "sun-kissed  tresses,"  her  enchanting 


PAUL   JONES  113 

coquetries,  and  her  taper  fingers,  made  to  be  kissed. 
Though  domineering  at  times,  she  idolised  Paul. 
Shortly  before  his  death  he  settled  an  annuity  on  her, 
giving  her  a  house  in  the  Rue  de  Provence,  a  street 
opened  a  few  years  before.  Here  she  lived  after  his 
death,  attracting  a  distinguished  circle  around  her, 
living  the  life  of  the  world,  while  her  heart  was  with 
her  dead. 

When  in  1799  Capelle  published  his  book  on  Paul 
Jones,  she  aided  him  with  much  general  information 
relating  to  the  Russian  campaign,  including  letters 
from  Potemkin,  Marshal  Suwarrow  and  the  Semiramis 
of  the  North,  and  allowed  him  to  publish  a  few  of 
her  lover's  letters  to  herself.  As  they  invariably 
began,  "  My  dear  Madame,"  except  in  one  or  two, 
where  he  called  her  his  "  Dear  Adele,"  and  were 
mostly  about  current  affairs,  she  could  have  no  hesi 
tancy  in  letting  them  be  read  by  the  world.  Where 
she  was  during  the  height  of  the  Revolution  is  not 
known.  Perhaps  she  left  France,  for,  being  of  royal 
blood,  the  mob  would  not  have  spared  her  had  its 
thoughts  flown  that  way.  It  is  unlikely  her  annuity 
was  derived  from  French  sources,  as  her  lover  was  a 
man  of  much  business  acumen  and  probably  invested 
in  English  or  Dutch  securities.  With  the  curtailment 
of  Marie  Antoinette's  retinue,  when  the  Court  moved 
to  the  Tuileries,  Aimee  lost  her  post  of  reader,  which 
she  had  filled  for  some  time.  From  1792  to  1799  she 
disappeared,  but  we  find  her  in  the  latter  year  teaching 
English  to  the  young  ladies  at  Madame  de  Campan's 
school.  Her  lover  had  insisted  that  she  should  perfect 


114  PAUL   JONES 

herself  in  his  tongue,  and,  besides  teaching  her  him 
self,  employed  Miss  Edes-Herbert  to  give  her 
lessons  during  the  sojourn  of  that  lady  in  Paris. 
After  this  she  taught  the  ladies  of  Josephine's  gaudy 
mushroom  Court,  also  giving  them  lectures  on  the 
Court  of  Louis  XVI  and  the  American  War  of 

I775-83- 

Aimee  was  consulted  by   Bare-re  very   frequently, 

when  he  was  editor  of  Napoleon's  official  gazette,  and 
translated  for  him  those  articles  from  the  English 
papers  which  the  policy  of  the  First  Consul  found 
wise  to  lay  before  the  French  nation.  She  had  the 
entree  of  the  Imperial  Court  as  she  had  enjoyed  the 
friendship  of  those  former  great  ones  Napoleon  so 
loved  to  gather  about  him,  no  matter  how  high  the 
price  of  their  favour. 

"  Loose  as  the  morals  of  the  Bourbon  Courts  were, 
Aimee  de  Telusson  held  her  head  up  as  proudly  as 
any  woman  of  less  clouded  birthright  might  have  done. 
She  was  the  pet  of  such  women  as  the  Duchesse  de 
Chartres,  the  Comtesse  de  Bourbon,  the  Princesse  de 
Lamballe,  the  Marquise  de  Marsan,  Madame  de 
Lafayette,  and  a  host  of  others — social  leaders  like 
them,  and  she  even  enjoyed  the  sympathy,  if  not 
the  patronage,  of  the  cold  and  prudish  Marie 
Antoinette  herself. 

"  But  little  knowledge  of  the  real  character  of  Paul 
Jones,  but  little  insight  into  the  alike  fierce  an'd  gentle 
chivalry  that  was  the  inspiration  of  all  his  conduct,  are 
needed  to  perceive  that  his  public  attentions  to  the 
lovely  woman  who  gave  herself  to  him  with  a  single- 


PAUL   JONES  115 

ness  of  devotion  seldom  seen,  would  naturally  have 
been  of  the  most  discreet  character  and  studiously 
planned  to  mask  any  relation,  or  semblance  of  one, 
equivocal. 

"As  for  the  absence  of  contemporary  animadver 
sions,  we  think  it  may  be  concisely  accounted  for  by 
the  knowledge,  general  at  the  time,  of  the  Commo 
dore's  abrupt  and  not  always  altogether  harmless 
methods  of  adjusting  personal  affairs,  either  on  his 
own  behalf  or  on  that  of  those  who  might  claim  his 
protection  or  enjoy  his  affection." 


CHAPTER    IX 

1777-1778 

IT  is  indisputably  to  his  previous  acquaintance  with 
the  Due  de  Chartres  that  Paul  Jones  owed  his  entree 
and  much  of  his  success  in  French  society,  for  where 
a  prince  of  the  blood  leads,  others  soon  follow.  The 
most  impartial  historian  has  been  unable  to  find 
excuses  for  de  Chartres,  profligate  that  he  was,  spend 
thrift,  and  master  of  vice  of  every  description,  whose 
path  was  always  downward.  Even  the  descendants 
of  those  men  whom  the  Regent  scathingly  called  his 
roues — a  name  of  greater  contempt  and  infamy  than 
in  our  day — turned  from  him  with  loathing. 

The  unnameable  orgies  of  the  regence  were 
repeated,  with  additions  undreamed  of  by  the  former 
revellers.  The  very  citizens  of  Paris  shuddered  in 
disgust  at  the  tales  which  crept  out — no  one  knew7  just 
how — of  saturnalia  and  licence  inconceivable.  In 
1783  this  prince  built  for  himself,  in  the  lovely  Pare 
Monceau,  a  pavilion  later  known  as  "  la  folle  de 
Chartres''  which  became  a  theatre  for  the  enactment 
of  those  abominable  revels.  Another  cause  of  his 
extreme  unpopularity  with  the  citizens  was  the  plan 
he  carried  out  of  disfiguring  the  Palais  Royal  with 
cheap  and  hideous  booths,  known  as  baraqucs.  In 
vain  his  neighbours  protested,  for  it  spoilt  their  view 


lib 


PAUL   JONES  117 

of  the  old  garden;  but  the  prospect  of  the  rents  he 
would  draw  so  appealed  to  Monseigneur  that  he  pro 
ceeded  unmoved. 

The  gardens  under  his  rule  were  constantly  being 
changed  and  replanted ;  he  even  went  to  the  expense 
of  building  an  underground  circus,  which  was  later 
destroyed  by  fire. 

De   Chartres  was  married  to   Marie   Adelaide   de 
Bourbon    Penthievre,   the  richest  heiress  in   France, 
whose  fortune  he  could  not  spend  fast  enough.     So 
terrible  were  his  extravagances  that  legal  steps  had 
to   be  taken   to  prevent  him  ruining  her  and   their 
family.    In  1 790  the  Duchesse  told  Gouverneur  Morris, 
then  American  Minister,  that  the  Due's  treasurer  did 
not  pay  her  regularly  every  month,   and  if  it  con 
tinued  she  would  separate  from  her  husband.     Her 
father,  the  Due  de  Penthievre,  tried  by  every  means 
to  bring  his  son-in-law  to  reason,  and  to  avoid  the 
open    scandal    such    a    separation    would    cause    in 
consequence    of    their    high    rank.     It    was    useless : 
de  Chartres,  now  Due  d'Orleans,  would  listen  to  no 
one,  and  a  lawsuit  was  commenced  which  lasted  till 
1793.     Mme.  de  Tourzel  asserts  that  his  hatred  of 
the  Princesse  de  Lamballe  dates  from  this  moment, 
as  he  believed  her  to  have  been  instrumental  in  bring 
ing  about  the  separation  which  deprived  him  of  the 
control  of  his  wife's  purse. 

D'Orleans  was  intensely  disliked  by  the  King  and 
Queen,  and  history  accuses  him  of  wasting  the 
Duchesse's  money  on  the  leaders  of  the  sans-coluttes 
and  most  rabid  revolutionaries,  by  whose  help  he 


118  PAUL   JONES 

hoped  to  bring  about  the  speedy  downfall  of  the  royal 
family.  There  were  persons  living  at  the  time  who 
swore  to  having  seen  him  in  disguise  at  the  fall  of  the 
Bastille,  and  at  Versailles  on  the  night  of  October  6th. 
But  on  July  12,  1789,  when  the  Prince  de  Lambesec 
and  his  German  soldiers  charged  the  mob  in  the 
Tuileries  Gardens,  and  the  partisans  of  d'Orleans 
and  Necker  carried  busts  of  these  worthies  through 
the  streets,  crying,  "  Vive  le  Due  d? Orleans!  Vive 
Necker! "  the  Due,  though  accused  of  encouraging 
his  followers  by  his  presence,  is  able  to  prove  an  alibi. 
That  beautiful  and  notorious  lady,  Grace  Dalrymple 
Elliot,  who  was  the  Due's  chere  amie,  begins  her 
interesting  memoir — 

"  In  the  year  1 789,  July  1 2th,  which  was  on  a  Sunday, 
I  went  with  the  Due  d'Orleans,  Prince  Louis  d'Arem- 
berg,  and  others  whose  names  I  do  not  recollect,  to 
fish  and  dine  at  the  Due's  chateau  of  Raincy,  in  the 
forest  of  Bondy,  near  Paris."  As  the  party,  after  a 
long  and,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  happy  day  in  the  country, 
returned  to  Paris  at  eleven  in  the  evening,  the  Due's 
actions  seem  satisfactorily  accounted  for.  His  con 
nivance  in  the  fiendish  murder  of  the  Princesse  de 
Lamballe  is  said  to  be  due  to  the  fact  that,  on  her 
death,  the  immense  fortune  of  which  she  was  pos 
sessed  reverted  to  him;  and  he  was  dining  with  his 
mistress,  Mme.  de  Bouffon,  at  the  Palais  Royale,  quite 
undisturbed  by  the  horrors  of  the  September  massacres, 
when  the  mob  stuck  the  pike  bearing  the  beautiful 
head  up  to  his  window.  D'Orleans  looked  calmly  out 
and  said,  "  Oh,  it  is  de  Lamhalle's  head,  I  know  it 


PAUL   JONES  119 

by  the  long  hair,"  and,  reseating  himself,  went  com 
fortably  on  with  his  repast. 

The  Due  was  a  man  who  had  no  sense  of  shame 
about  anything,  and  openly  gave  his  mistress,  Mme. 
de  Genlis,  apartments  in  the  Palais  Royal,  and 
appointed  her  to  the  post  of  governess  to  his  children, 
despite  the  objections  of  the  Duchesse.  To  such  an 
extent  did  the  artful  lady  get  her  charges  under  her 
influence  that  they  refused  to  leave  her  and  go  to  their 
mother,  to  the  untold  sorrow  of  the  latter.  D'Orleans 
is  described  as  a  pleasant  companion  and  master  of 
the  art  of  pleasing — when  it  was  to  his  advantage— 
and  it  suited  him  to  help  the  Americans'  cause,  for 
he  had  his  own  chestnuts  to  pull  out  of  the  fire.  A 
man  who  will  foment  anarchy  and  revolution  in  his 
own  country  has  very  little  of  the  true  spirit  of 
patriotism,  and  this,  with  the  callous  way  he  broke 
his  wife's  heart  and  estranged  her  children  from  her, 
inclines  one  to  believe  the  many  discreditable  stories 
so  freely  told,  and  feel  more  than  glad  that  the  fate 
to  which  he  doomed  his  unoffending  cousin  became 
his,  when,  amid  groans  and  hisses,  "  £galite" 
ascended  the  guillotine. 

In  1778  he  had  not  reached  the  stage  where  he  was 
prepared  to  declare  himself  so  openly,  and,  though 
persona  non  grata  at  the  Court,  could  and  did  help 
Paul  Jones  to  the  best  of  his  ability.  He  also  pre 
sented  him  to  the  Duchess,  who  became  a  staunch 
friend,  and  aided  the  Americans  with  large  sums  of 
money. 

Paul  Jones  was  unquestionably  at  this  moment  the 


120  PAUL   JONES 

most  sought-after  man  in  Paris,  and  it  is  amusing  to 
what  an  extent  women  of  all  ranks  were  attracted  by 
a  personality  which  was  an  indescribable  blending  of 
tamed  pirate  and  man  of  fashion.  They  swarmed 
around  him  like  bees  around  honey,  for  his  very 
appearance  breathed  untold  romance  as  he  gazed  into 
those  melting  blue,  brown,  or  grey  eyes,  in  whose  com 
pany  he  found  himself  at  the  moment,  with  a  fervour 
that  set  hearts  beating  unevenly.  Had  the  success  of 
his  mission  to  France  depended  solely  on  the  efforts 
of  women,  unquestionably  he  would  have  accom 
plished  his  ends  in  less  time ;  as  it  was  he  owed  more 
to  the  kindness  of  the  Duchesse  de  Chartres  than 
his  intense  gratitude  could  ever  repay.  Interested  in 
such  an  unusual  type  of  man,  the  Duchess  on  all 
occasions  used  to  treat  him  with  the  utmost  gracious- 
ness,  and  nicknamed  him — as  it  was  her  habit  to  do 
with  those  she  liked — the  "  Chevalier  sans  titre  de 
la  me?" 

But  it  must  not  be  supposed,  even  with  the  aid 
and  patronage  of  this  very  charming  lady,  everything 
went  smoothly.  To  begin  with,  there  was  wrangling 
among  the  Commissioners  from  the  United  States. 
Dr.  Franklin  wished  to  keep  Paul  Jones  in  Europe, 
while  Lee,  who  hated  and  feared  him,  was  bent  on 
getting  him  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  at  the 
first  opportunity.  Silas  Deane,  the  third  Commis 
sioner,  was  a  non-entity,  with  little  voice  in  the  matter. 
Lee  was  playing  the  traitor,  and  employing  "two 
British  spies  "  as  his  private  secretaries,  so  that  all 
the  intentions  of  the  new  republic  were  at  once  known 


THK    DUCHKSSK    DE    CHARTRKS 


PAUL   JONES  121 

in  London.  Lee  feared  Jones,  anH  knew  how  little 
mercy  he  could  expect  from  the  fiery  captain  if  his 
treachery  was  discovered;  therefore,  the  sooner  he 
got  Paul  out  of  his  way  the  better.  It  would  be 
interesting  to  know  why  Lee,  a  man  blessed  with  the 
world's  goods,  played  this  part.  It  could  not  be  said 
gain  was  the  motive  for  his  treachery  to  a  cause  he 
championed  of  his  own  free  will  from  the  first.  But 
he  did  not  wish  Jones  to  remain  in  Europe.  However, 
Dr.  Franklin  held  the  controlling  vote;  he  thundered 
forth  his  orders  that  Paul  Jones  was  to  stay  in  France, 
and  Paul  stayed. 

It  was  the  crisis  in  his  life,  for  had  not  the  good 
doctor  carried  his  point,  Paul  most  probably  would 
have  been  relegated  to  the  rank  of  captain  in  an  infant 
and  unformed  navy  where,  lacking  that  political  influ 
ence  without  which  little  was  possible,  obscurity  might 
have  been  his  portion  instead  of  the  brilliant  rank  he 
so  deservedly  won. 

It  was  understood  that  on  his  arrival  in  France 
Jones  was  to  be  given  command  of  the  Indien,  a 
frigate  for  which  he  had  prepared  the  plans  in  1775. 
These  the  Marine  Committee  had  approved,  and 
Silas  Deane  contracted  for  the  frigate  to  be  laid  down 
at  Amsterdam  the  following  year.  As  Holland  main 
tained  a  neutral  policy  towards  the  rest  of  Europe, 
the  frigate  was  supposedly  intended  for  the  East 
India  Company,  and  built  under  the  supervision  of 
Captain  Gillon,  he  being  directed  by  Charles 
Frederick  Dumas,  the  secret  agent  of  the  United 
States,  through  whose  bankers  all  bills  were  paid. 


122  PAUL   JONES 

The  Indien  was  frigate  built,  with  an  extreme  length 
over  all  of  154  feet;  her  complement  of  officers  and 
men  numbered  four  hundred.  "  She  was  forty  or 
fifty  per  cent,  more  powerful  than  any  regular  frigate 
then  afloat;  the  equal,  in  fact,  of  any  forty-four  gun 
ship  on  the  two  decks  in  that  period,  and  little  inferior 
to  most  ships  of  fifty  guns." 

By  order  of  the  Marine  Committee,  Jones  was  to 
assume  command  of  the  ship  on  his  arrival.  What 
was  his  surprise  then,  to  learn,  on  reaching  Paris,  that 
the  ship  had  been  sold  to  the  King  of  France  for  a 
price  that  covered  the  expenses  of  her  construction  ! 
He  was  dumbfounded,  and  'demanded  the  reason  of 
this  forced  sale. 

The  Indien  had  been  launched,  and  ready  to  pro 
ceed  to  TOrient  to  receive  her  guns,  when,   like  a 
bolt  out  of  the  blue,  Sir  Joseph  Yorke,  Minister  to 
the  Netherlands,  reported  to  the  States-General  that 
she  was  an  American  ship  of  war,  that  her  building 
had    been    carried    on    under    false    pretences,    and 
demanding   that   she   should   be   detained   in   Dutch 
waters    for   "meditated    breach   of    neutrality."     All 
concerned  in  the  venture  were  amazed  at  the  betrayal 
of  the  well-kept  secret,  until  Jones,  to  whom  it  was  a 
matter  of  vital  interest,  found  they  had  been  betrayed 
to    King    George's    government    by    Lee's    private 
"secretary,"   Thornton.      So   complete  was  the   evi 
dence  of  this  piece  of  treachery,  that  copies  of  the  most 
secret  letters  and  documents,  proving  beyond  a  doubt 
the  purpose  for  which  the  Indien  was  intended,  had 
been  furnished,     How  Dr.   Franklin  ever  managed 


PAUL   JONES  123 

to  restrain  Paul  Jones  from  falling  upon  Lee,  and 
rending  him  limb  from  limb  as  the  price  of  his 
treachery,  is  not  related.  But  there  was  a  terrible 
scene. 

Furious  as  Jones  felt,  at  Dr.  Franklin's  wish  he 
went  to  Amsterdam  to  see  the  ship.  Dark-eyed  and 
swarthy,  he  looked  what  he  claimed  to  be,  a  Spanish 
officer,  wishing  to  inspect  the  Indlen  and  report  on  it 
to  his  master,  the  King  of  Spain,  with  the  probability 
of  purchasing,  if  satisfactory.  His  fluent  Spanish 
stood  him  in  good  stead,  and  he  was  able  to  make  such 
observations  as  he  would,  without  any  one  dreaming 
that  the  redoubtable  Paul  Jones  was  at  large  among 
the  unprotected  citizens  of  Amsterdam.  So  well  was 
the  secret  kept,  that  Dumas  was  the  only  person  to 
whom  he  revealed  his  identity,  and  not  one  of  Lee's 
spies  got  an  inkling  of  the  plan.  This  trip  occupied 
nearly  two  months,  and  Jones  returned  to  Franklin 
with  the  assurance  that  during  the  existing  neutrality 
between  England  and  Holland  it  would  be  idle  to 
waste  time  in  trying  to  get  possession  of  the  ship, 
even  though  it  were  the  property  of  the  French 
government. 

In  refutation  of  the  assertion  that  Jones  behaved 
violently  over  his  disappointment  in  losing  the  Indien, 
his  own  letter  is  worth  quoting. 

"  I  understood,"  he  wrote  to  the  Marine  Committee, 
in  his  first  despatches  from  Nantes,  "though  I  have 
yet  received  no  letter,  that  the  commissioners  had 
provided  for  me  one  of  the  finest  frigates  that  ever 
was  built,  calculated  for  thirty  guns  on  one  deck,  and 


124  PAUL   JONES 

capable  of  carrying  thirty  six-pounders;  but  were 
under  the  necessity  of  giving  her  up,  on  account  of 
some  difficulties  which  they  met  with  at  Court.  Per 
haps  the  news  of  our  late  successes  may  now  put  that 
court  in  a  better  humour.  But  my  unfeigned  thanks 
are  equally  due  for  that  intention.'" 

In  another  letter  he  says,  "  Deeply  sensible  of  the 
honour  wrhich  Congress  has  conferred  upon  me,  com 
municated  in  the  orders  of  the  secret  committee  to 
the  commissioners,  I  can  bear  the  disappointment  with 
philosophy.  Yet  I  confess  I  was  rather  hurt  when, 
at  Paris,  I  understood  that  the  new  frigate  at  Amster 
dam  had  never  been  intended  for  me,  before  my 
appearance,  but  for  the  constructor." 

After  some  delay,  Franklin  verbally  ordered  him 
to  join  the  Ranger,  where,  on  arrival,  he  found  enough 
to  keep  him  busy,  as  the  crew  of  the  good  ship  was 
in  a  state  verging  upon  mutiny,  having  been  stirred 
up  and  worked  upon  by  the  first  Lieutenant  Simpson, 
described  as  "  a  brave  man,  and  for  his  calibre  a  good 
officer,  a  thoroughbred  Yankee  sailor,  but  a  man  of 
less  brain  than  ambition."  He  had  convinced  the 
crew  that  Jones  was  permanently  detached  from  the 
Ranger,  that  orders  to  sail  from  home  were  expected, 
and  he,  Simpson,  was  to  be  in  command;  with  a  lot 
more  misinformation.  It  is  said  of  Jones,  "that  the 
crew  used  to  get  crazy  about  him  when  he  was  with 
them  and  talking  to  them,  and  it  was  only  when  his 
back  was  turned  that  any  one  could  wean  them  away 
from  him ; "  and  the  master  hand  of  Lee  was  at  the 
bottom  of  this,  with  the  assistance  of  those  "  private 
secretaries,"  Thornton  and  Hezekiah  Ford. 


PAUL   JONES  125 

Jones  was  a  man  of  action':  he  sent  instantly  for 
the  disturbing  Mr.  Simpson. 

"  I  command  this  ship,  Mr.  Simpson,"  he  said,  "  by 
virtue  of  the  resolution  of  Congress,  dated  June  I4th 
last.  But  I  will  urge  none  of  these  considerations 
upon  you  in  your  present  attitude.  So  far  as  you 
are  concerned,  I  will  say  only  that  I  command  this 
ship  by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  I  am  personally  the  best 
man  aboard — a  fact  which  I  shall  cheerfully  demon 
strate  to  you  at  your  pleasure  !  And  I  wish  you  to 
signify  your  pleasure  to  me  here  and  now !  " 

Mr.  Simpson  instantly  decided  that  he  had  been 
sadly  misunderstood,  and  that  he  wished  for  nothing 
better  than  to  serve  loyally  under  his  commander  as 
he  had  always  been  proud  to  do.  His  Yankee  caution 
warned  him  that  it  was  better  to  be  "  a  living  donkey 
than  a  dead  lion,"  and  that  he  had  no  wish  to  be  a 
human  target.  The  apology  served  Jones,  who,  with 
his  customary  good  nature,  "commanded  him  to  join 
him,  as  he  was  going  ashore  to  dine  with  the  com 
mandant  of  the  Brest  dockyard,"  assuring  him  that 
the  French  officers  would  gladly  welcome  an  addi 
tional  guest. 

Jones  returned  from  Holland  in  March  1778,  but  did 
not  sail  for  his  cruise  in  the  Ranger  until  April  loth. 
In  the  interval  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  con 
stantly  in  the  company  of  the  Due  and  Duchesse  de 
Chartres,  who  were  in  residence  at  Brest.  The  day  pre 
vious  to  the  Ranger's  sailing,  April  9th,  the  Duchesse 
paid  him  the  unusual  compliment  of  giving  a  dinner 
in  his  honour;  at  which,  beside  the  household  and 
retinue  of  their  rank,  many  distinguished  officers  of 


126  PAUL  JONES 

both  services  were  present,  naturally  leading  the  con 
versation  to  naval  affairs. 

In  this  Paul  took  a  passive  part  until  'd'Orvillers 
brought  up  the  great  French  battle  off  Malaga,  in 
which  the  Comte  de  Toulouse  fought  the  allied 
English  and  Dutch  fleets.  That  he  did  not  pursue, 
when  they  ran  for  Gibraltar,  d'Orvillers  made  the 
subject  of  adverse  comment  on  de  Toulouse.  Speak 
ing  for  the  first  time,  Jones  politely  but  decidedly 
differed  with  d'Orviller's  opinion.  If  one  of  the  fallen 
angels  had  appeared  in  that  distinguished  assembly 
unannounced,  the  effect  could  not  have  been  more 
startling;  for,  in  their  secret  souls,  most  of  these 
elegant  courtiers  had  considered  Jones  as  an  ordinary 
"  Yankee  skipper,"  a  man  of  good  address,  gifted 
with  more  savoir  faire  than  the  average  adventurer, 
but  never  thought  of  him  as  a  man  of  education  or  a 
profound  student  of  history.  They  did  not  know  that 
naval  history  was  his  dearest  hobby,  and  from  the 
days  of  Noah's  ark  and  the  rudimentary  coracle  to 
the  latest  ship  of  war  he  was  master  of  his  subject. 

Without  a  suspicion  of  the  surprise  caused  by  his 
remarks,  he  proceeded  to  explain  technically  his 
grounds  for  difference  of  opinion  in  language  showing 
his  complete  familiarity  with  the  strategical  value 
of  the  manoeuvres  of  de  Toulouse's  fleet,  and  gave, 
off-hand,  the  armament  of  every  ship  in  his  com 
mand.  It  is  an  indisputable  fact  that  he  was  the  only 
man  present  who  could  have  furnished  this  informa 
tion,  for  the  French  navy  was,  fundamentally,  an 
aristocratic  organisation,  to  enter  which  certain 
degrees  of  nobility  and  hereditary  honours  were 


PAUL   JONES  127 

indispensable,  often  to  the  detriment  of  the  service. 
He  proved  to  them  that  his  grasp  of  the  political 
importance  of  the  battle,  and  its  effect  on  the  war  of 
the  Spanish  Succession,  was  not  inferior  to  his  tech 
nical  knowledge;  and,  it  may  be  said,  from  this 
moment  Paul  Jones's  French  acquaintances  took  him 
seriously,  accepting  him  for  the  man  of  refinement 
and  culture  that  he  was,  and  let  their  half  contemptu 
ous  picture  of  pirate  and  filibuster  fade  from  their 
minds.  They  began,  in  a  measure,  to  understand 
something  of  his  complex  character. 

The  Duchesse,  in  whom  the  Chinese  trait  of 
ancestor  worship  was  strongly  developed,  delighted 
beyond  everything  in  the  history  of  her  grandfather 
whom  Paul  so  flatteringly  defended.  She  expressed 
her  pleasure  graciously,  giving  an  order  to  one  of  her 
attendants.  A  few  minutes  later  a  case  was  brought 
to  her,  which  she  opened,  taking  from  it  a  richly 
jewelled  watch  of  exquisite  Louis  XV  design,  which 
she  smilingly  handed  to  him,  with  the  explanation 
that  it  had  belonged  to  her  grandfather,  who  always 
wore  it.  For  once  in  his  life  Paul  Jones  was  so  taken 
aback  as  to  be  almost  at  a  loss  for  suitable  words  in 
which  to  thank  the  royal  lady,  so  unexpected  was  the 
gift.  But  he  overcame  his  momentary  embarrassment, 
thanking  the  beautiful  Duchesse  who  had  so  honoured 
him,  adding,  with  a  deep  bow,  as  he  placed  the  won 
derful  jewelled  toy  close  to  his  ambitious  heart— 

"  May  it  please  your  Royal  Highness,  if  fortune 
should  favour  me  at  sea,  I  will  some  day  lay  an 
English  frigate  at  your  feet." 


CHAPTER   X 

1778 

PAUL  JONES  was  once  again  at  sea,  with  the  salt 
spray  stinging  his  lips;  living,  as  he  had  lived  for  so 
many  years,  between  sea  and  sky,  with  every  sense 
on  the  alert  for  adventure.  The  seductions  of  the 
court  were  forgotten,  the  fair  women  who  flattered 
and  caressed,  wraiths  of  his  dreams,  to  fade  vaguely 
into  nothingness  before  the  cold  light  of  reality. 

Jones  sailed  on  the  Ranger  from  Brest  on  April 
loth,  his  course  was  shaped  for  the  west  coast  of  Ire 
land,  but  the  terrific  gales  encountered  the  second 
'day  out  forced  him  to  change  the  plans  of  his  cruise 
and  run  up  St.  George's  Channel  to  the  Irish  Sea. 
His  own  letter  is  the  best  description  of  the  cruise— 

"I  sailed  from  Brest  on  the  loth  April;  my  plan 
was  extensive,  I  therefore  did  not  at  the  beginning 
wish  to  encumber  myself  with  prisoners.  On  the  I4th 
I  took  a  brigantine  between  Scilly  and  Cape  Clear, 
bound  for  Ostend,  with  a  cargo  of  flax-seed  for 
Ireland,  sunk  her,  and  proceeded  into  St.  George's 
Channel. 

"On  the  1 7th  I  took  the  ship  Lord  Chatham,  bound 
from  London  to  Dublin,  with  a  cargo  consisting  of 

porter,   and   a   variety   of   merchandise,    and    almost 

128 


PAUL   JONES  129 

within  sight  of  her  port;  this  ship  I  manned  and 
ordered  into  Brest." 

The  following  night  he  planned  a  'descent  on  White- 
haven,  which  the  wind  obliged  him  to  abandon.  On 
the  1 8th  in  Glentine  Bay,  on  the  south  coast  of  Scot 
land,  he  "met  with  a  revenue-wherry";  it  being  the 
common  practice  of  these  vessels  to  board  merchant 
ships,  the  Ranger  then  having  no  external  appearance 
of  war,  it  was  expected  that  this  rover  would  have 
come  alongside,  "  which,  however,  to  his  surprise,  she 
did  not,  though  the  men  were  at  their  quarters";  but 
sailed  away  despite  a  severe  cannonade. 

"The  next  morning  off  the  Mull  of  Galloway  I 
found  myself  so  near  a  Scotch  coasting  schooner 
loaded  with  barley  that  I  could  not  avoid  sinking  her." 
The  letter  goes  on  with  much  similar  _detail ;  then,  on 
the  2  ist,  he  saw  the  Drake  of  twenty  guns,  which  he 
determined  to  attack  in  the  night.  "  My  plan  was  to 
overlay  her  cable,  and  to  fall  upon  her  bow,  so  as  to 
have  all  her  decks  open  and  exposed  to  our  musketry, 
etc.;  at  the  same  time  it  was  my  intention  to  have 
secured  the  enemy  by  grapplings,  so  that,  had  they 
cut  their  cables,  they  would  not  thereby  have  attained 
an  advantage.  The  wind  was  high,  and  unfortunately 
the  anchor  was  not  let  go  as  soon  as  the  order  was 
given,  so  that  the  Ranger  was  brought  to  upon  the 
enemy's  quarter  at  the  distance  of  half  a  cable's  length. 
We  had  made  no  warlike  appearance,  of  course  had 
given  no  alarm;  this  determined  me  to  cut  imme 
diately,  which  might  appear  as  if  the  cable  had  parted, 
and  at  the  same  time  enable  me,  after  making  a  tack 


130  PAUL   JONES 

out  of  the  loch,  to  return  to  the  same  prospect  of 
advantage  which  I  had  at  the  first."  This  he  was 
unable  to  do,  as  the  weather  grew  very  stormy,  and 
forced  him  "to  shelter  under  the  south  shore  of 
Scotland." 

These  gales,  which  first  caused  Jones  to  alter  his 
cruise,  equally  upset  the  arangements  of  his  foes. 
When  the  first  "provisional  plan"  had  been  made, 
Lee's  secretary,  Thornton,  lost  no  time  in  sending  all 
details  to  the  Admiralty,  and  two  heavy  sloops  of  war 
and  a  thirty-two  gun  frigate  were  ordered  to  the  west 
coast  of  Ireland.  They  left  Plymouth  on  the  I2th, 
two  days  after  the  Ranger  sailed,  but  the  same  gale 
which  affected  Jones  drove  them  into  Falmouth  for 
shelter.  When  the  three  ships  arrived  at  their  destina 
tion  they  could,  naturally  enough,  find  no  trace  of 
the  Ranger.  Until  the  news  sent  by  Thornton  reached 
the  Admiralty,  there  was  no  idea  of  Jones  being  in  the 
vicinity,  much  less  cruising  in  home  waters. 

Paul  Jones  had  planned  this  cruise  with  the  hope 
of  crippling  English  shipping.  With  this  in  view, 
he  intended  to  make  a  descent  on  Whitehaven,  a 
"  considerable  port,"  where  he  had  the  advantage  of 
knowing  every  foot  of  the  ground  from  his  boyhood. 
He  has  been  the  victim  of  abuse  from  all  sorts  of 
writers  for  attacking  a  town  where  he  had  associations, 
perhaps  even  friends.  But  in  war  there  is  no  senti 
ment,  and  it  is  open  to  question  whether  little  Johnnie 
Paul  was  much  spoiled  or  feted  when  he  returned 
from  his  voyages  in  his  poor  and  unknown  days.  He 
intended  on  such  destruction  of  life  and  property  as 


PAUL   JONES  131 

King  George's  brutal  Hessian  soldiers  inflicted  on 
the  Americans,  and  who  had  spared  his  plantation  and 
slaves  when  Lord  Dunmore  made  that  devastating 
raid  ?  The  age  was  more  rugged  than  the  one  we  live 
in,  and  conflicting  parties  did  not  go  to  war  for  the 
sake  of  exchanging  civilities. 

On  2 2nd  of  April  he  again  determined  to  attack 
Whitehaven.  The  hills  were  covered  with  snow  and  the 
wind  so  light  that  "  the  ship  would  not  in  proper  time 
approach  so  near  as  I  intended."  So,  nothing  daunted, 
he  left  the  Ranger  at  midnight  with  thirty-one 
volunteers  and  two  boats.  So  long  had  all  this  taken 
that  it  was  dawn  when  they  reached  the  outer  pier. 
"  I  would  not  abandon  the  enterprise,"  he  continues, 
"  but  despatched  one  boat  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Hill  and  Lieut.  Wallingford,  with  the  necessary  com 
bustibles  to  set  fire  to  the  shipping  on  the  north  side 
of  the  harbour,  while  I  went  with  the  other  party  to 
attempt  the  south  side.  I  was  successful  in  scaling 
the  walls  and  spiking  all  the  cannons  on  the  first  fort; 
finding  the  sentinels  shut  up  in  the  guard-house,  they 
were  secured  without  being  hurt.  Having  fixed 
sentinels,  I  now  took  with  me  one  man  only  (Mr. 
Green,  midshipman),  and  spiked  up  all  the  cannon  on 
the  southern  fort,  distant  from  the  other  a  quarter  of 
a  mile." 

Rather  a  daring  exploit  for  one  man  and  a  boy  to 
undertake  single-handed  in  the  daylight,  when  the 
whole  town  might  swoop  down  on  them  at  any 
moment ;  and  how  bitter  the  shock  of  disappointment 
on  returning  breathless  "  from  this  business  I  naturally 


I  2 


132  PAUL   JONES 

expected  to  see  the  fire  of  the  ships  on  the  north  side, 
as  well  as  to  find  my  own  party  with  everything  in 
readiness  to  set  fire  to  the  shipping  on  the  south; 
instead  of  this,  I  found  the  boat  under  the  direction 
of  Mr.  Hill  and  Mr.  Wallingford  and  the  party  in 
some  confusion,  their  light  having  burnt  out  at  the 
instant  when  it  became  necessary. 

"  By  the  strangest  fatality  my  own  party  were  in 
the  same  situation,  the  candles  being  all  burnt  out. 
The  day  came  on  apace,  yet  I  would  by  no  means 
retreat  while  any  hopes  of  success  remained.  Having 
again  placed  sentinels,  a  light  was  obtained  at  a  house 
disjoined  from  the  town,  and  a  fire  was  kindled  in  the 
steerage  of  a  large  ship,  which  was  surrounded  by  at 
least  a  hundred  and  fifty  others,  chiefly  from  two  to 
four  hundred  tons  burthen,  and  lying  side  by  side 
aground,  unsurrounded  by  water. 

'  There  were,  besides,  from  seventy  to  a  hundred 
large  ships  in  the  north  arm  of  the  harbour,  aground, 
clear  of  the  water,  and  divided  from  the  rest  only  by 
a  stone  pier  of  a  ship's  height.  I  should  have  kindled 
fires  in  other  places  if  the  time  had  permitted;  as  it 
did  not,  our  care  was  to  prevent  the  one  kindled  from 
being  easily  extinguished.  After  some  search  a  barrel 
of  tar  was  found,  and  poured  into  the  flames,  which 
now  ascended  from  all  the  hatchways.  The  inhabit 
ants  began  to  appear  in  thousands,  and  individuals 
ran  hastily  towards  us.  I  stood  between  them  and 
the  ship  on  fire,  with  a  pistol  in  my  hand,  and  ordered 
them  to  retire,  which  they  did  with  precipitation.  The 
flames  had  already  caught  the  rigging,  and  began  to 


PAUL   JONES  133 

ascend  the  main-mast;  the  sun  was  a  full  hour's  march 
above  the  horizon,  and  as  sleep  no  longer  ruled  the 
world  it  was  time  to  retire.  We  re-embarked,  having 
released  a  number  of  prisoners,  as  our  boats  could  not 
carry  them.  After  all  my  people  had  embarked  I 
stood  on  the  pier  for  a  considerable  space,  yet  no 
person  advanced ;  I  saw  all  the  eminences  around  the 
town  covered  with  amazed  inhabitants." 

His  contemporaries  considered  this  an  unparalleled 
feat  of  hardiness,  that  a  handful  of  men  dared,  in 
broad  daylight,  land  in  a  large  town,  spike  guns,  lock 
sentries  in  the  guard-house,  and  unconcernedly  set 
fire  to  the  shipping,  while  the  dazed  inhabitants  stood 
by  in  masses,  gaping  with  surprise.  There  was  a  rush 
to  the  cannon,  as  soon  as  the  boats  rowed  out  of  range, 
to  find  them  spiked  and  harmless.  The  thirty  guns, 
intended  to  defend  the  fort  were  mere  masses  of  use 
less  metal.  After  a  little  the  townspeople  found  some 
ships'  guns  that  had  not  been  disabled,  and  fired  one 
or  two  dismounted  cannon  that  laid  on  the  beach  and 
had  not  been  spiked,  but  their  aim  was  affected  by 
excitement,  and  Jones  wrote:  "Afforded  some  diver 
sion,  which  my  people  could  not  help  showing,  by 
discharging  their  pistols,  etc.,  in  return  of  the  salute." 

The  non-success  of  this  raid  was  one  of  the  captain's 
greatest  disappointments,  and  it  was  long  before  he 
became  reconciled  to  its  failure.  He  reported  to 
Congress— 

"  My  first  object  was  to  secure  an  exchange  of 
prisoners  in  Europe,  and  my  second  to  put  an  end 
by  one  good  fire  in  England  of  shipping  to  all  the 


134  PAUL   JONES 

burnings  in  America.  I  succeeded  in  the  first  even 
by  means  far  more  glorious  than  my  most  flattering 
ideas  had  expected  when  I  left  France.  In  the  second 
I  endeavoured  to  deserve  success;  but  a  wise  officer 
of  mine  observed,  "  that  it  was  a  rash  thing,  and  that 
nothing  could  be  got  by  burning  poor  people's 
property."  I  must,  however,  do  him  the  justice  to 
mention  his  acknowledgment  that  he  had  no  turn  for 
the  enterprise,  and  I  must  also  do  equal  justice  to  my 
former  officers  in  the  Providence  and  'Alfred  by  de 
claring  that  had  they  been  with  me  in  the  Ranger  two 
hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  sail  of  large  ships 
at  Whitehaven  would  have  been  left  in  ashes." 

All  this  must  have  been  maddening  to  the  high- 
tempered  Paul,  who  had  so  long  and  carefully  planned 
his  raid,  especially  as  one  of  his  crew  turned  traitor, 
and  went  from  house  to  house,  rousing  up  the  inhabit 
ants  with  the  tidings  "  that  fire  had  been  set  to  a  ship." 
There  were  no  casualties,  and  only  one  man  was  left 
behind,  Jonathan  Wells,  who  lingered  too  long  feed 
ing  the  tar-kindled  flames.  He  was  not  lacking  in 
his  share  of  "  Yankee  wit,"  made  every  one  believe 
him  a  deserter,  and  shipped  on  a  transport  taking 
troops  to  America.  Once  there  he  deserted,  enlisting 
on  a  privateer,  then  in  some  manner  came  to  be  in 
the  crew  of  the  Alliance  when  she  took  Lafayette 
home  in  1779,  and  when  he  got  to  POrient  at  once 
reported  to  his  old  captain,  who  had  him  transferred 
to  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  fitting  out  for  a  cruise  at 
that  port.  Wells  is  the  man  who,  under  the  name  of 
"  Freeman,"  supplied  the  information  from  which  the 


PAUL   JONES  135 

contemporary  Cumberland  Packet  publishe'd  a  much 
quoted  article. 

If  the  attempt  had  been  an  hour  earlier  it  is  impos 
sible  to  estimate  the  damage  Jones's  forces  might 
have  done,  but  dawn  saved  the  town  of  Whitehaven. 
The  growing  daylight  showed  the  townspeople  the 
smallness  of  his  forces  and  they  began  to  rally  in  great 
numbers,  but  without  system  or  order.  Jones  decided 
it  was  time  to  retreat,  as  the  landing  parties  having 
become  separated  he  feared  Wallingford  might  be 
cut  off  before  they  could  reach  the  waiting  boats. 
With  a  command  to  "  Come  on  !  "  he  and  his  twelve 
men  rushed  the  hundred  militia,  who  were  trying  to 
regain  possession  of  the  lower  fort  with  the  spiked 
guns,  enabling  his  men,  after  some  lively  but  harm 
less  skirmishing,  to  retreat  to  the  boats  in  good 
order. 

So  ended  the  famous  raid  on  Whitehaven,  a  town 
of  from  forty  to  fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  which, 
"  with  thirty  men  only  he  surprised ;  taking  two 
strong  forts  with  thirty  pieces  of  cannon';  setting  fire 
to  the  shipping  where  they  lay,  300  or  upward  in 
the  dry  pier.  That  both  shipping  and  town  were 
not  burned  is  due  to  the  backwardness  of  some 
persons  under  my  command,"  Jones  concluded  his 
report. 

cc  Few  naval  enterprises  exhibit  a  character  of 
greater  daring  and  originality  than  this  descent  on 
Whitehaven,"  is  the  comment  of  Mackenzie,  always 
reluctant  to  praise  Paul  Jones,  but  such  a  dare-devil 
foray  won  praise  even  from  his  pen.  "  Its  actual 


136  PAUL   JONES 

results  were  of  little  moment,  for  the  intended  destruc 
tion  of  the  shipping  was  limited  to  one  vessel.  But 
the  moral  effects  of  it  were  very  great,  as  it  taught 
the  English  that  the  fancied  security  of  their  coasts 
wras  a  myth,  and  thereby  compelled  their  government 
to  take  expensive  measures  for  the  defence  of  numer 
ous  ports  hitherto  relying  for  protection  wholly  on  the 
vigilance  and  supposed  omnipotence  of  their  navy. 
It  also  doubled  or  more  the  rates  of  insurance,  which, 
in  the  long  run,  proved  the  most  grievous  damage 
of  all" 

The  excitement  along  the  coast  was  intense.  The 
stout  burghers,  thoroughly  aroused  at  the  thoughts  of 
being  seized  and  carried  off  by  pirates  and  desperadoes 
as  they  sat  in  the — once — safe  shelter  of  their  homes, 
formed  themselves  into  companies  of  militia,  to 
defend  the  household  gods  from  the  ruthless  invader. 
Never  in  the  memory  of  man  had  they  been  so  shocked 
and  surprised  out  of  their  after-dinner  meditations; 
but,  most  terrible  warning  of  what  might  happen  to 
them,  was  that  alarming  fact :  that  it  doubled  or  more 
the  rates  of  insurance,  which,  as  Jones  wrote,  "in  the 
long  run  proved  the  most  grievous  damage  of  all" 


CHAPTER   XI 

1778 

No  action  of  Paul  Jones's  chequered  career  has 
been  the  theme  of  more  controversy  than  the  descent 
on  St.  Mary's  Isle,  a  beautifully  wooded  promontory 
in  the  river  Dee,  about  a  mile  from  Kirkcudbright, 
belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Selkirk. 

Despite  the  ridiculous  stories  prevalent,  Jones  had 
no  grudge  against  this  nobleman,  whom  he  had  never 
seen.  He  hoped  to  carry  off  Lord  Selkirk,  hold  him 
prisoner  of  war,  and  use  him  as  a  pawn  in  negotiating 
the  release  and  better  treatment  of  American  prisoners. 
There  was  no  ulterior  motive  in  the  whole  transaction, 
which  he  explains  to  Lady  Selkirk  in  the  letter  which 
has  been  published  far  and  wide.  He  did  not  make 
his  descent  on  St.  Mary's  Isle  with  intent  to  plunder, 
and  always  regretted  that  he  could  not  make  the  love 
of  glory  greater  than  gain  in  the  breasts  of  those  who 
fought  with  him;  for,  under  the  rules  of  war,  he  had 
no  right  to  object  to  the  seizure  of  Lady  Selkirk's 
plate. 

Of  course  he  had  the  tremendous  advantage  of 
knowing  every  yard  of  the  coast,  and  was  his  own 
pilot,  After  leaving  Whitehaven  he  headed  for  the 
north  shore,  up  Sol  way  Firth,  about  three  hours'  sail 

137 


138  PAUL   JONES 

with  the  wind  favourable.  He  wrote  Mr.  Hewes,  that 
by  making  two  descents,  thirty  or  forty  miles  apart  in 
so  short  a  time — practically  the  same  day — he  would 
give  the  idea  that  a  large  fleet  of  American  ships  was 
hovering  about  the  coast.  He  landed  on  St.  Mary's 
Isle  with  one  boat  and  twelve  men,  proceeding  un 
molested  to  the  castle.  Learning  that  Lord  Selkirk 
was  not  at  home,  and  the  object  of  his  visit  fruitless, 
Jones  wished  to  retire  to  the  Ranger,  but  this  the  men, 
not  having  the  same  contempt  for  booty,  were  unwill 
ing  to  do. 

Out  of  respect  to  the  emphatic  comman'ds  of  their 
captain  they  offered  no  violence,  mostly  remaining 
in  the  hall,  while  a  deputation  waited  on  Lady 
Selkirk,  who  was  at  breakfast,  requesting  that  she 
would  deliver  to  them  all  the  plate  and  valuables 
in  the  establishment.  This  she  ordered  the  butler  to 
do,  but  the  treasures  at  St.  Mary's  were  the  result  of 
centuries  of  collecting,  and,  from  the  value  of  what 
they  carried  away,  it  is  clearly  shown  that  the  old 
retainer  obeyed  his  mistress's  order  with  some  mental 
reservations  of  his  own.  Even  the  tea-pot,  from 
which  the  family  were  pouring  that  "  cup  which  cheers, 
not  inebriates,"  was  hastily  emptied  to  add  to  the 
spoils;  and,  it  is  said,  on  its  return  to  the  Selkirks, 
some  years  later,  the  original  tea-leaves  still  remained 
in  the  pot ! 

For  some  time  after  leaving  St.  Mary's  Isle  Jones 
was  too  fully  occupied  to  concern  himself  with  the 
theft  of  the  plate,  but,  on  arriving  at  Brest,  he  wrote 
the  following  explanatory  letter  to  Lady  Selkirk— 


H      S 


PAUL   JONES  139 

"Ranger,  Brest,  May  8,  1778. 

"  MADAME, 

"  It  cannot  be  too  much  lamented  that  in  the 
profession  of  arms  the  officer  of  fine  feelings  and  real 
sensibility  should  be  under  the  necessity  of  winking 
at  any  action  of  persons  under  his  command  which  his 
heart  cannot  approve;  but  the  reflection  is  doubly 
severe  when  he  finds  himself  obliged,  in  appearance, 
to  countenance  such  acts  by  his  authority. 

"This  hard  case  was  mine,  when,  on  the  23rd  of 
April  last,  I  landed  on  St.  Mary's  Isle.  Knowing 
Lord  Selkirk's  interest  with  the  King,  and  esteeming, 
as  I  do.  his  private  character,  I  wished  to  make  him 
the  happy  instrument  of  alleviating  the  horrors  of 
hopeless  captivity,  when  the  brave  are  overpowered 
and  made  prisoners  of  war. 

'"'  It  was,  perhaps,  fortunate  for  you,  Madame,  that 
he  was  from  home,  for  it  was  my  intention  to  have 
taken  him  on  board  the  Ranger,  and  to  have  detained 
him  until,  through  his  means,  a  general  and  fair 
exchange  of  prisoners,  as  well  in  Europe  as  in 
America,  had  been  effected.  When  I  was  informed 
by  some  men  whom  I  met  at  landing  that  his  Lord 
ship  was  absent,  I  walked  back  to  my  boat,  determined 
to  leave  the  island.  By  the  way,  however,  some 
officers,  who  were  with  me,  could  not  forbear  express 
ing  their  discontent,  observing  that,  in  America,  no 
delicacy  was  shown  By  the  English,  who  took  away  all 
sorts  of  movable  property,  setting  fire,  not  only  to 
towns  and  to  the  houses  of  the  rich,  without  distinc 
tion,  but  not  even  sparing  the  wretched  hamlets  and 


140  PAUL   JONES 

milch-cows  of  the  poor  and  helpless,  at  the  approach 
of  an  inclement  winter.  That  party  had  been  with 
me  the  same  morning  at  Whitehaven ;  some  complais 
ance,  therefore,  was  their  due.  I  had  but  a  moment 
to  think  how  I  might  gratify  them,  and  at  the  same 
time  do  your  Ladyship  the  least  injury.  I  charged 
the  officers  to  permit  none  of  the  seamen  to  enter  the 
house,  or  to  hurt  anything  about  it;  to  treat  you, 
Madame,  with  the  utmost  respect;  to  accept  of  the 
plate  which  was  offered,  and  to  come  away  without 
making  a  search,  or  demanding  anything  else. 

"  I  am  induced  to  believe  that  I  was  punctually 
obeyed,  since  I  am  informed  that  the  plate  which  they 
brought  away  is  far  short  of  the  quantity  expressed  in 
the  inventory  which  accompanied  it.  I  have  gratified 
my  men;  and,  when  the  plate  is  sold,  I  shall  become 
the  purchaser,  and  will  gratify  my  own  feelings  by 
restoring  it  to  you  by  such  conveyance  as  you  shall 
please  to  direct. 

"  Had  the  Earl  been  on  board  the  Ranger  the 
following  evening  he  would  have  seen  the  awful  pomp 
and  dreadful  carnage  of  a  sea  engagement,  both 
affording  ample  subject  for  the  pencil  as  well  as 
melancholy  reflections  for  the  contemplative  mind. 
Humanity  starts  back  from  such  scenes  of  horror,  and 
cannot  sufficiently  execrate  the  vile  promoters  of  this 
detestable  war— 

'  For  they,  'twas  they,  unsheathed  the  ruthless  blade, 
And  Heaven  shall  ask  the  havoc  it  has  made.' 

The    British    ship-of-war    Drake,    mounting    twenty 
guns,  with  more  than  her  full  complement  of  officers 


PAUL   JONES  141 

and  men,  was  Our  opponent.  The  ships  met,  and  the 
advantage  was  disputed  with  great  fortitude  on  each 
side  for  an  hour  and  four  minutes,  when  the  gallant 
commander  of  the  Drake  fell,  and  victory  declared 
in  favour  of  the  Ranger.  The  amiable  lieutenant  lay 
mortally  wounded,  besides  near  forty  of  the  inferior 
officers  and  crew  killed  and  wounded — a  melancholy 
demonstration  of  the  uncertainty  of  human  prospects 
and  of  the  sad  reverse  of  fortune  which  an  hour  can 
produce.  I  buried  them  in  a  spacious  grave,  with 
the  honours  due  to  the  memory  of  the  brave. 

"  Though  I  have  drawn  my  sword  in  the  present 
generous  struggle  for  the  rights  of  men,  yet  I  am  not 
in  arms  as  an  American,  nor  am  I  in  pursuit  of  riches. 
My  fortune  is  liberal  enough,  having  no  wife  or  family, 
and  having  lived  long  enough  to  know  that  riches 
cannot  insure  happiness.  I  profess  myself  a  citizen 
of  the  world,  totally  unfettered  by  the  little,  mean 
distinctions  of  climate  or  of  country,  which  diminish 
the  benevolence  of  the  heart  and  set  bounds  to  philan 
thropy.  Before  this  war  began  I  had  at  the  early  time 
of  life  withdrawn  from  the  sea-service  in  favour  of 
'  calm  contemplation  and  poetic  ease.'  I  have  sacri 
ficed  not  only  my  favourite  scheme  of  life,  but  the 
softer  affections  of  the  heart  and  my  prospects  of 
domestic  happiness,  and  I  am  ready  to  sacrifice  my 
life  also  with  cheerfulness,  if  that  forfeiture  could 
restore  peace  and  goodwill  among  mankind. 

"  As  the  feelings  of  your  gentle  bosom  cannot  but 
be  congenial  with  mine,  let  me  entreat  you,  Madame, 
to  use  your  persuasive  art  with  your  husband  to 


142  PAUL    JONES 

endeavour  to  stop  this  cruel  and  destructive  war,  in 
which  Britain  can  never  succeed.  Heaven  can  never 
countenance  the  barbarous  and  unmanly  practice  of 
the  Britons  in  America,  which  savages  would  blush 
at,  and  which,  if  not  discontinued,  will  soon  be  retali 
ated  on  Britain  by  a  justly  enraged  people.  Should 
you  fail  in  this  (for  I  am  persuaded  that  you  will 
attempt  it,  and  who  can  resist  the  power  of  such  an 
advocate?)  your  endeavours  to  effect  a  general  ex 
change  of  prisoners  will  be  an  act  of  humanity  which 
will  afford  you  golden  feelings  on  a  death-bed. 

:£  I  hope  this  cruel  contest  will  soon  be  closed;  but 
should  it  continue,  I  will  wage  no  war  with  the  fair. 
I  will  acknowledge  their  force  and  bend  before  it 
with  submission.  Let  not,  therefore,  the  amiable 
Countess  of  Selkirk  regard  me  as  an  enemy;  I  am 
ambitious  of  her  esteem  and  friendship,  and  would  do 
anything,  consistent  with  my  duty,  to  merit  it. 

'  The  honour  of  a  line  from  your  hand  in  answer 
to  this  will  lay  me  under  a  singular  obligation;  and 
if  I  can  render  you  any  acceptable  service  in  France 
or  elsewhere  I  hope  you  will  see  into  my  character  so 
far  as  to  command  me  without  the  least  grain  of 
reserve. 

"  I  wish  to  know  exactly  the  behaviour  of  my  people, 
as  I  am  determined  to  punish  them  if  they  have  ex 
ceeded  their  liberty.  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  with 
much  esteem  and  with  profound  respect,  Madame, 
etc.,  etc., 

"JOHN  PAUL  JONES. 

"  To  the  Countess  of  Selkirk." 


PAUL   JONES  143 

The  correspondence  occasioned  by  the  seizure  of 
the  Selkirk  plate  became  voluminous,  lasting  several 
years.  Paul  Jones  had  pledged  his  personal  honour 
to  restore  the  plate,  "which  was  very  old,  and  fashion 
of  it  not  worth  a  straw,  especially  in  France,  where 
none  such  was  used,"  but,  once  in  the  harpy  claws  of 
commissaries  and  prize  agents,  it  required  all  his  dis 
interestedness  to  wrest  the  plate  from  them,  even  by 
paying,  he  says,  "more  than  the  value,"  which  was 
something  between  £140  and  £150,  showing  that  a 
very  small  part  of  the  Selkirk  plate  really  left  the 
castle.  It  was  valued  and  re-valued,  and  occasioned 
more  trouble  and  expense  than  it  was  intrinsically 
worth,  had  not  Jones  considered  his  honour  pledged 
for  its  safe  restoration. 

Father  John,  an  Irish  priest,  chaplain  to  Comte 
d'Orvillers,  then  commanding  a  fleet  lying  off  Brest, 
helped  him  greatly  in  the  matter,  the  delay  of  which 
exasperated  the  Captain.  So  justly  provoked  was  he 
about  this  affair,  and  the  sordid  spirit  of  the  agents, 
"  that  in  the  very  temper  of  Hotspur  we  find  him  ex 
claiming  :  '  I  will  not  abate  the  thousandth  part  of 
a  sol  of  the  three  twentieths  of  prizes,  which  no  man 
in  America  ever  presumed  to  dispute  as  being  my  just 
and  proper  right,  and  which  no  rascal  in  Europe  shall 
presume  to  dispute  with  impunity !  To  whom,  since 
I  was  myself  Commander-in-Chief,  would  this  old 
fool  decree  the  three  twentieths  ?  Perhaps  to  his  'dear 
self,  who  is  puffed  up  with  the  idea  of  his  right  to 
secure  the  '  property  of  captures.'  " 

Dr.  Franklin  approved  Jones's  stand,  saying  that 


144  PAUL   JONES 

it  "was  a  gallant  letter,  which  must  give  her  ladyship 
a  high  opinion  of  his  generosity  and  nobleness  of 
mind."  Lord  Selkirk  answered  the  letter,  saying  he 
would  accept  the  plate  if  returned  by  order  of  Con 
gress,  but  not  "  if  redeemed  by  individual  generosity." 
Through  a  chain  of  circumstances  this  letter  never 
reached  Jones,  being  detained  several  months  in  the 
General  Post  Office  in  London,  and  finally  returned 
to  the  writer.  Immediately  Selkirk  asked  a  friend 
to  tell  Dr.  Franklin  the  contents,  as  this  seemed 
the  easiest  way  to  ensure  his  reply  reaching  Paul 
Jones. 

In  1780  the  latter  got  possession  of  the  plate,  but 
it  was  not  until  four  years  later  he  was  able  to  restore 
it  to  the  owners.  In  a  letter  to  Lady  Selkirk,  under 
the  date  of  March  i,  1780,  he  alludes  to  the  informa 
tion  conveyed  to  him  by  Lord  Selkirk's  friend,  Mr. 
Alexander,  as  to  the  non-arrival  of  the  letter,  also  that 
he  had  been  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time  absent 
from  the  kingdom.  He  has  "  the  great  satisfaction 
to  inform  her  that  Congress  has  relinquished  their  real 
or  supposed  interest  in  the  plate,  and,  for  my  own 
part,  I  scorn  to  add  to  my  fortune  by  such  an  acquisi 
tion.  As  for  the  part  claimed  by  the  few  men  who 
landed  wjth  me  on  St.  Mary's  Isle  it  is  of  little  con 
sequence,  and  they  are  already  satisfied.  Thus  you 
see,  Madame,  the  objection  is  removed." 

In  February  1784  Paul  explains  to  Lord  Selkirk 
that  the  plate  is  "  lodged  in  the  hands  of  Messrs. 
Gourlade  and  Moylan,"  mentioning  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Nesbitt,  who  had  been  informed  by  Selkirk's  son, 


HELEN,    COUNTESS    OF    SELKIRK 
u  unfinished  painting.     Reproduced  by  permission  of  Captain  John  Hope.  R.X 


PAUL   JONES  145 

Lord  Daer,  "  that  Lord  Selkirk  had  agreed  to  its  being 
restored,  and  forwarded  to  the  care  of  your  sister-in- 
law,  the  Countess  of  Morton,  in  London/'  which  all 
seems  simple  and  easy,  though  there  was  a  lot  of  red 
tape  to  be  untied  before  the  family  tea-pot — with  the 
leaves  still  in  it — was  once  again  seen  upon  the 
breakfast  table. 

Paul  received  a  very  flattering  letter  from  M.  de 
Calonne,  who  alluded  to  one  Paul  had  written,  asking 
permission  "to  transport  by  land  from  1'Orient  to 
Calais,  the  plate  of  Lady  Selkirk,  which  you  had 
permitted  to  be  taken  by  your  people  during  the  late 
war,  and  which  you  afterwards  purchased  to  return  to 
her  ladyship." 

*  That  action,  sir,  is  worthy  of  the  reputation  which 
you  acquired  by  your  conduct,  and  proves  that  true 
valour  perfectly  agrees  with  humanity  and  generosity." 

De  Calonne  tells  Paul  that  he  has  "given  orders 
to  the  Farmers  General  to  permit  the  transportation 
of  the  plate  from  1'Orient  to  Calais,  free  of  duty,  and 
you  may  write  to  your  correspondent  at  1'Orient  to 
deliver  it  to  the  director  of  the  posts,  who  will  take 
upon  himself  the  care  of  having  it  transported  to 
Calais,  and  to  fulfil  all  the  necessary  formalities.  The 
Duke  of  Dorset  has  been  so  obliging  as  to  write  to 
the  Custom  House  at  Dover,  requesting  them  to  let  it 
pass  to  London  without  being  opened."  So,  at  last, 
the  plate  seemed  to  be  in  a  fair  way  to  be  restored  to 
its  rightful  owners. 

Jones  wrote  apologetically  to  Lord  Selkirk  for 
the  length  of  time  the  plate  had  been  detained, 


146  PAUL   JONES 

and  alludes  to  his  motive  for  wishing  to  take  him 
prisoner. 

"  You  observed  to  Mr.  Alexander,  '  that  my  idea  was 
a  mistaken  one,  because  you  were  not  (as  I  had  sup 
posed)  in  favour  with  the  British  government,  who 
knew  you  favoured  the  cause  of  liberty'  On  that 
account  I  am  glad  that  you  were  absent  from  your 
estate  when  I  landed  there,  as  I  bore  you  no  personal 
enmity,  but  the  contrary  towards  you.  .  .  . 

"As  I  have  endeavoured  to  serve  the  cause  of 
liberty,  through  every  stage  of  the  American  Revolu 
tion,  and  sacrificed  to  it  my  private  ease,  a  part  of  my 
fortune,  and  some  of  my  blood,  I  could  have  no  selfish 
motive  in  permitting  my  people  to  demand  and  carry 
off  your  plate.  My  sole  inducement  was  to  turn  their 
attention  and  stop  their  rage  from  breaking  out,  and 
retaliating  on  your  home  and  effects  the  wanton 
burnings  and  desolation  that  had  been  committed 
against  their  relations  and  fellow-citizens  in  America 
by  the  British ;  of  which  I  assure  you,  you  would  have 
felt  the  severe  consequences  had  I  not  fallen  on  an 
expedient  to  prevent  it,  and  hurried  my  people  away 
before  they  had  time  for  further  reflection.  As  you 
were  so  obliging  as  to  say  to  Mr.  Alexander  that  '  my 
-people  behaved  with  great  decency  at  your  house]  I 
ask  the  favour  of  you  to  announce  that  circumstance 
to  the  public.  ...  I  am,  etc.'3 

So  many  slurs  have  been  cast  on  Paul  Jones  over 
this  incident,  that  it  is  but  just  to  quote  Lord  Sel 
kirk's  reply,  the  tone  of  which  proves  there  was  no 


PAUL   JONES  147 

grudge  in  his  personal  feelings  toward  the  Com 
mander,  who  had  merely  acted  in  accordance  with  the 
customs  of  war — 

"  London,  August  4,  1789. 

"  MONSIEUR  LE  CHEVALIER  PAUL  JONES,  A  PARIS, 

"  SIR, 

"  I  have  received  the  letter  you  wrote  me  at 
the  time  you  sent  off  my  plate,  in  order  for  restoring 
it.  Had  I  known  where  to  direct  a  letter  to  you,  at 
the  time  it  arrived  in  Scotland,  I  would  have  then 
wrote  to  you;  but  not  knowing  it,  nor  finding  that  any 
of  my  acquaintance  at  Edinburgh  knew  it,  I  was 
obliged  to  delay  writing  till  I  came  here;  when,  by 
means  of  a  gentleman  connected  with  America,  I  was 
told  that  M.  le  Grand  was  your  banker  at  Paris,  and 
would  take  proper  care  of  a  letter  for  you;  therefore 
I  enclose  this  to  him. 

"  Notwithstanding  all  the  precautions  you  took  for 
the  easy  and  uninterrupted  conveyance  of  the  plate, 
yet  it  met  with  considerable  delays,  first  at  Calais,  next 
at  Dover,  then  at  London.  However,  it  at  last  arrived 
at  Dumfries,  and,  I  dare  say,  quite  safe,  though  as 
yet  I  have  not  seen  it,  being  then  at  Edinburgh. 

"  I  intended  to  have  put  an  article  in  the  newspapers 
about  your  having  returned  it;  but  before  I  was  in 
formed  of  its  being  arrived  some  of  your  friends,  I 
suppose,  had  it  put  in  the  Dumfries  newspaper, 
whence  it  was  immediately  copied  into  the  Edinburgh 
papers,  and  thence  into  the  London  ones. 

"  Since  that  time   I   have   mentioned   it   to   many 

K  2 


148  PAUL   JONES 

people  of  fashion ;  and  on  all  occasions,  sir,  both  now 
and  formerly,  I  have  done  you  the  justice  to  tell  that 
you  made  an  offer  of  returning  the  plate  very  soon 
after  your  return  to  Brest,  and  although  you  yourself 
were  not  at  my  house,  but  remained  at  the  shore  with 
your  boat,  that  yet  you  had  your  officers  and  men  in 
such  extraordinary  good  discipline,  that  you  having 
given  them  the  strictest  orders  to  behave  well,  to  do 
no  injury  of  any  kind,  to  make  no  search,  but  only 
to  bring  off  what  plate  was  given  them ;  that  in  reality 
they  did  exactly  as  ordered,  and  that  not  one  man 
offered  to  stir  from  his  post  on  the  outside  of  the 
house,  nor  entered  the  doors,  nor  said  an  uncivil  word  ; 
that  the  two  officers  stood  not  a  quarter  of  an  hour  in 
the  parlour  and  butler's  pantry  while  the  butler  got 
the  plate  together;  behaved  politely,  and  asked  for 
nothing  but  the  plate,  and  instantly  marched  their 
men  off  in  regular  order;  and  that  both  officers  and 
men  behaved  m  all  respects  so  well,  that  it  would  have 
done  credit  to  the  best  disciplined  troops  whatever. 

"  Some  of  the  English  newspapers  at  that  time 
having  put  in  confused  accounts  of  your  expedition 
to  Whitehaven  and  Scotland,  I  ordered  a  proper  one 
of  what  happened  in  Scotland  to  be  put  in  the  London 
newspapers,  by  a  gentleman  who  was  then  at  my  house, 
by  which  the  good  conduct  and  civil  behaviour  of  your 
officers  and  men  were  done  justice  to,  and  attributed 
to  your  orders  and  the  good  discipline  you  maintained 
over  your  people. 

"  I  am,  Sir,  your  most  humble  servant, 

"  SELKIRK." 


CHAPTER    XII 

1778 

ON  the  morning  of  April  24,  1778,  the  Ranger, 
after  her  attack  on  the  shipping  of  Whitehaven  and 
descent  on  St.  Mary's  Isle,  was  again  off  Carrick- 
fergus,  on  the  eve  of  that  encounter  which  was 
to  bring  her  captain  fame  in  a  night.  Though 
there  are  many  descriptions  of  the  battle,  the  best  is 
that  given  by  Jones  himself  to  Mr.  Hewes.  He 
begins — 

u  On  the  morning  of  the  24th  I  was  again  off 
Carrickfergus,  and  would  have  gone  in,  had  I  not 
seen  the  Drake  preparing  to  come  out;  it  was  very 
moderate,  and  the  Drake's  boat  was  sent  out  to  recon 
noitre  the  Ranger.  As  the  boat  advanced  I  kept  the 
ship's  stern  directly  towards  her,  and,  though  they 
had  a  spy-glass  in  the  boat,  they  came  on  within  hail 
alongside.  When  the  officer  came  on  the  quarter 
deck  he  was  greatly  surprised  to  find  himself  a 
prisoner! — although  an  express  had  arrived  from 
Whitehaven  the  night  before.  I  now  understood  what 
I  had  before  imagined,  that  the  Drake  came  out  in 
consequence  of  this  information  with  volunteers 
against  the  Ranger.  The  officers  told  me  also  that 
they  had  taken  up  the  Ranger's  anchor. 

*  The  Drake  was  attended  by  five  small  vessels  full 

149 


150  PAUL   JONES 

of  people,  who  were  led  by  motives  of  curiosity  to 
see  an  engagement;  but  when  they  'discovered  the 
Drake's  boat  at  the  Ranger's  stern  they  wisely  put 
back." 

It  seems  a  curious  piece  of  carelessness  that  an 
officer  should  come  aboard  an  unknown  ship  in  this 
casual  manner,  asking  no  questions,  taking  for  granted 
that  all  the  world  was  friendly,  and  this,  when  that 
"terrible  pirate  and  sea  wolf,"  Paul  Jones,  was  at 
large !  The  astonishment  of  this  confiding  officer 
must  have  been  worth  recording  in  his  memoirs,  if  he 
ever  wrote  any ! 

"Alarm  smokes  now  appeared  in  great  abundance, 
extending  along  both  shores  of  the  channel.  The 
tide  was  unfavourable,  so  that  the  Drake  worked  out 
slowly.  This  obliged  me  to  run  down  several  times, 
and  to  lay  with  courses  up,  and  main-topsails  to  the 
mast.  At  length  the  Drake  weathered  the  point,  and 
having  led  her  out  to  about  mid-channel,  I  suffered 
her  to  come  within  hail.  The  Drake  hoisted  English 
colours,  and  at  the  same  instant  the  American  Stars 
were  displayed  on  board  the  Ranger.  I  expected 
that  preface  had  been  now  at  an  end;  but  the 
enemy  soon  after  hailed,  demanding  what  the  ship 
was.  I  directed  the  master  to  answer,  the  American 
Continental  ship  Ranger,  that  we  waited  for  them, 
and  desired  they  would  come  on.  The  sun  was  now 
a  little  more  than  an  hour  from  setting,  it  was,  there 
fore  time  to  begin.  The  Drake  being  rather  astern 
of  the  Ranger,  I  ordered  the  helm  up,  and  gave  her 
the  first  broadside.  The  action  was  warm,  close  and 


PAUL   JONES  151 

obstinate;  it  laste'd  an  hour  and  five  minutes,  when 
the  enemy  called  for  quarter,  her  fore  and  main  top 
sails  both  being  cut  away  and  down  on  the  cap;  the 
fore-topgallant  yard  and  mizzen-gaff  both  hanging 
up  and  down  along  the  mast ;  the  second  ensign,  which 
they  had  hoisted,  shot  away  and  hanging  over  the 
quarter-gallery  in  the  water;  the  jib  shot  away,  and 
hanging  in  the  water;  her  sails  and  rigging  entirely 
cut  to  pieces,  her  main-masts  and  yards  all  wounded, 
and  her  hull  also  very  much  galled. 

"  I  lost  only  Lieutenant  Wallingford  and  one  sea 
man  (John  Donegal)  killed  and  six  wounded,  among 
whom  are  the  gunner  (Mr.  Falls)  and  Mr.  Powers,  a 
midshipman,  who  lost  his  arm.  One  of  the  woun'ded 
(Nathaniel  Wills)  is  since  dead,  and  the  rest  will 
recover. 

"At  the  time  of  going  into  action  the  Ranger  had 
one  hundred  and  twenty-six,  all  hands,  at  quarters, 
and  eighteen  guns.  The  Drake's  battery  is  sixteen 
nine-pounders  and  four  f our-pounHers ;  the  Ranger's 
fourteen  nine-pounders  and  four  sixes. 

"The  result  of  the  action  was  due  entirely  to  the 
superior  gunnery  of  my  crew.  There  was  no  manoeuv 
ring  worth  mention.  As  soon  as  the  two  ships  got 
clear  of  the  land,  the  Drake  being  astern  an'd  within 
hail,  both  standing  to  the  eastward,  the  wind  southerly 
and  light,  sea  fairly  smooth,  they  hailed  us  :  '  What 
ship  is  that?'  to  which  we  replied,  'The  American 
Continental  ship  Ranger;  come  on,  we  are  waiting  for 
you.5 

"  Both  ships  then  wore  almost  together,  laying  their 


152  PAUL   JONES 

heads  to  the  north,  and  going  off  nearly  before  the 
wind,  which  was  no  more  than  enough  to  make  good 
steering  way. 

"Our  broadside  was  just  an  instant  the  first.     The 
enemy's  fire  was  spirited,  but,  for  a  king's  ship,  very 
ineffective.     This  I  can  only  attribute  to  the  distress 
and  confusion  caused  on  board  of  her  by  the  remark 
able  effect  of  our  fire.     The  range  was  close,  hardly 
more  than  a  musket  shot  at  any  time.     Her  crew,  as 
I  can  judge  from  the  prisoners  taken,  was  fully  up  to 
the  British  man-of-war  standard  :  yet  in  the  hour  of 
cannonading  our  loss  was   only  two  killed   and  six 
wounded— one  mortally.     The  Ranger  did  not  suffer 
in  hull  or  spars  or  rigging  enough  to  have  prevented 
her  from  fighting  again  the  next  morning  if  necessary. 
But   the  Drake   was   almost  wrecked,   and    she   lost 
nineteen  killed  or  died  of  wounds,  including  her  cap 
tain  and  first  lieutenant,  and  twenty-eight  officers  and 
men  severely  wounded,  the  only  sea  officer  remaining 
to  strike  her  flag  being  her  second  lieutenant. 

'The   behaviour  of  my  men   in  this   engagement 
more  than  justifies  the  representations  I  have  so  often 
made  to  you  of  what  American  sailors  would  do  if 
given  a  chance  at  the  enemy  in  his  own  waters      We 
have  seen  that  they  fight  with  courage  on  our  own 
But  no  one  has  ever  seen  them  fight  on  our 
coast  as  they  fought  here,  almost  in  hail  of  the  enemy's 
Every  shot  told,  and  they  gave  the  Drake 
broadsides   for   two   right   along   at   that.     Of 
surse,  I  had  lost  no  opportunity  of  training  them  in 
gun  exercise,  both  at  sea  and  in  port.     But  my 


PAUL   JONES  153 

supply  of  ammunition  would  never  admit  of  actual 
target  practice,  so  the  precision  of  their  fire  was  simply 
natural  aptitude." 

Would  that  much  restrained  ami  harassed  com 
mander  have  obtained  greater  results  if  he  had  the 
ample  facilities  of  other  navies  to  draw  upon?  It  is 
open  to  question,  for,  with  his  poor  little  ship,  half- 
equipped  and  wholly  untried,  he  won  his  battles,  and 
that,  after  all,  is  the  aim  ami  end  of  warfare,  despite 
the  "pelagic  conditions  and  ulterior  objects"  so 
learnedly  discoursed  of  by  Napoleon's  admirals,  much 
to  that  imperious  autocrat's  disgust  when  he  demandeH 
action,  not  theory. 

Paul  was  jubilant  over  the  aptitude  shown  by  his 
crew :  "  I  have  never  seen  men  handle  guns  as  they 
handled  the  Ranger's  nine-pounders,"  he  declared, 
with  honest  pride  in  the  success  of  his  training.  "As 
the  two  ships  were  going  off  the  wind,  which  was 
light,  they  both  rolled  considerably  and  together ;  that 
is,  when  the  Ranger  went  down  to  port  the  Drake 
came  up  to  starboard.  Quite  early  in  the  action  I 
noticed  that  my  quarter  gunners  had  caught  the 
Drake's  period  of  roll  and  were  timing  to  fire  as  their 
muzzles  went  down  and  the  enemy's  came  up.  By 
this  practice  they  were  hulling  the  Drake  prodigiously 
below  the  water-line  and  everywhere  below  the  plank- 
sheer,  though  damaging  her  but  little  aloft.  Being 
near  Quarter-Gunner  Owen  Starbuck  of  Nantucket  at 
the  moment,  I  asked  him  why  they  fired  that  way,  and 
he  replied,  '  To  sink  the  English  b s,  sir.' 

"  I  then  told  Starbuck  and  the  others  that  it  was  not 


154  PAUL   JONES 

my  policy  to  sink  the  Drake,  but  that  I  wished  to  take 
her  alive  instead  of  destroying  her;  explaining  that 
it  would  be  much  more  to  our  advantage  to  carry  her 
as  a  visible  prize  into  a  French  port.  The  alert 
fellows  instantly  took  this  hint,  and  began  firing  as 
their  muzzles  rose,  by  which  practice  they  soon 
crippled  the  Drake's  spars  and  rigging,  and  made  her 
an  unmanageable  log  on  the  water.  I  am  persuaded 
that  if  I  had  not  advised  them  to  this  effect,  my 
gunners  would  have  sunk  the  Drake  in  an  hour  !  As 
it  was,  we  had  to  put  spare  sails  over  the  sides  after 
she  struck  to  keep  her  afloat,  and  careen  her  as  much 
as  we  could  the  next  day  to  plug  the  holes  they  had 
already  made  between  wind  and  water.  While  I  am 
telling  you  about  the  behaviour  of  my  men,  I  must 
not  forget  to  mention  that  at  the  moment  when  the 
Drake's  fore  and  main  topsail  yards  came  down  on 
the  caps,  and  she  fell  off,  giving  us  the  chance  to  luff 
under  her  stern  and  rake  her,  I  was  in  the  forward 
division,  in  consequence  of  Lieutenant  Wallingford 
being  killed,  and  at  once  started  to  run  aft  to  the 
wheel  to  order  the  helm  down  for  the  manoeuvre.  But 
before  I  got  to  the  mainmast  the  fore  and  main  top 
sails  were  already  shivering,  because  Chief  Quarter- 
Master  Nathan  Sergeant  of  Portsmouth,  N.H.,  who 
had  the  wheel,  had  already  seen  our  chance  and  had 
taken  upon  himself  the  important  responsibility  of 
luffing  ship  without  orders :  thus  anticipating  my 
intention,  and  leaving  me  nothing  to  do  but  order  the 
starboard  tacks  on  board  to  keep  her  full  and  shift 
the  broadside  for  raking,  when,  luckily,  the  enemy, 


PAUL   JONES  155 

realising  his  helpless  situation,  called  for  quarter  and 
spared  further  bloodshed.  The  unfortunate  loss  of 
Lieutenant  Wallingford  in  the  action  enabled  me  to 
advance  Mr.  Sergeant  to  the  post  of  Acting  Master. 
But  I  regret  to  say  that  since  our  return  here  he  has 
found  it  to  his  advantage  to  leave  me,  being  offered 
command  of  a  large  French  privateer  of  twenty-six 
guns,  belonging  to  M.  de  Chaumont  and  M.  He 
Marcereau,  now  fitting  out  at  St.  Malo.  As  Mr. 
Sergeant  is  master  of  the  French  language,  this  com 
mand  will  enable  him  to  better  his  fortunes,  and  in 
view  of  the  sorry  hopes  of  recompence  in  the  Conti 
nental  service  I  could  not  withhold  my  consent  to  his 
going,  or  to  his  taking  with  him  eight  others  of  my 
New  Hampshire  men,  whom  he  will  make  officers  in 
his  new  ship,  the!  Marseille.  Our  seamen  who  can 
speak  French  are  in  great  request  here  for  officers  in 
privateers.5' 

The  period  of  enlistment  on  the  Ranger  haH  been 
originally  for  one  year  only,  and  expired  October  ist, 
1778.  There  were  many  disadvantages  in  these  short 
enlistments,  but  the  terms  offeree!  by  Congress  were 
not  advantageous  enough  to  hold  the  seamen  for  long 
terms,  and  though  Jones  disliked  parting  from  his 
trained  officers  or  crew,  his  sense  of  justice  would  not 
allow  him  to  hinder  their  advancement  in  life. 

In  this  letter  he  enclosed  the  carpenter's  very 
technical  estimate  for  repairs,  which  amounted  to  some 
three  thousand  louis  d'or,  or  twenty-seven  hundreH 
guineas.  The  Drake  had  been  all  knocked  to  pieces, 
having  "  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  shot  in  her 


156  PAUL   JONES 

hull,  below  the  plank-sheer,  thirty-six  of  which  were 
below  her  water-line,  some  of  which,  in  consequence 
of  the  close  range,  went  clean  through  the  hull,"  but 
being  a  new  ship,  only  three  years  off  the  stocks,  she 
was  considered  well  worth  repairing. 

The  French  Government  allowed  Jones  to  have  the 
repairs  made  at  the  Brest  'dockyard  at  its  expense. 

In  the  action  he  lost  only  one  officer  an'd  two  men 
killed,  two  severely  wounded,  Mr.  Powers  losing  his 
right  arm,  and  three  able  seamen  wounded,  but  "  doing 
well."  The  Drake  was  less  fortunate,  her  captain  was 
killed,  also  her  first  lieutenant.  The  second  lieutenant 
who  surrendered  the  Drake  was  wounded,  being  kept 
prisoner  for  over  a  year,  and  did  not,  in  consequence, 
have  the  usual  court-martial  until  eighteen  months 
after  the  action.  There  was  some  controversy  over  his 
statements,  as  he  testified  that  the  Ranger  outclassed 
the  Drake  in  "weight  of  metal,"  declaring  the  latter 
had  twenty  guns,  all  four-pounders,  while  official 
papers  in  the  French  archives  describe  her  as  "  seize 
piece  de  neuf  livres  de  balle  et  quatre  piece  de  quatre" 
and  it  is  unlikely  her  guns  were  changed  before  she 
was  sold  at  Brest  as  a  prize. 

With  great  reluctance  Jones  relinquished  his  inten 
tion  of  cruising  around  Scotland,  but,  short-handed  as 
he  was,  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  think  of 
anything  but  getting  into  port  with  his  prizes,  for  a 
heavy  sea  might  send  the  crippled  Drake  to  the 
bottom,  robbing  him  of  the  tangible  proofs  of  his 
victory. 

He  put  thirty-two  officers  and  men  aboard  the  Drake 


PAUL  JONES  157 

to  man  her  and  guard  the  prisoners,  and,  after  taking 
a  prize  off  Malin  Head,  shaped  his  course  to  the  south 
and  west,  till  clear  of  the  mouth  of  the  English 
Channel,  when  he  ran  for  Brest.  '  This  prize  was  of 
some  value,  being  laden  with  naval  stores,"  Jones 
reports.  "On  the  whole  I  was  out  of  port  twenty- 
eight  days,  took  six  merchant  prizes,  of  which  I 
destroyed  three  and  the  other  three  are  safe  in  French 
ports ;  besides  taking  and  bringing  in  a  regular  man- 
of-war  of  the  enemy,  slightly  superior  in  force  to  my 
ship." 

And  now  came  that  long  dreamed-of  and  hoped-for 
hour,  when  he  entered  a  French  port  bringing  a  ship 
"  slightly  superior  "  to  his  own,  belonging  to  the  finest 
navy  afloat,  a  feat  which  had  never  before  happened 
in  the  history  of  naval  warfare.  So  unsettled  had 
been  the  political  situation  when  he  sailed  in  April, 
that  he  was  unaware  if  England  and  France  were  at 
war,  or  if  that  declaration  still  hung  in  the  balance. 
He  knew  nothing  of  importance  that  had  happened 
since  he  left  France,  and  a  month  counted  a  long  time 
in  the  critical  relations  between  the  two  countries. 
He  prayed  nothing  would  go  wrong  before  he  reached 
a  friendly  port,  and  his  usual  luck  befriended  him, 
as  he  arrived  off  Brest  on  the  evening  of  May  8th. 

Before  sailing,  d'Orvillers  had  paid  Jones  the  un 
precedented  compliment  of  giving  him  the  book  of 
private  signals  used  by  the  French  navy,  enabling 
him  to  enter  any  port  when  he  wished.  As  he  sailed 
through  the  outer  roads  of  Brest,  his  trained  eye  told 
him  that  the  French  Fleet  lay  there,  ready  for  war, 


158  PAUL   JONES 

and  four  guard  frigates  patrolled  between  the  main 
land  and  Ushant.  Thanks  to  d'Orvillers,  he  used 
the  private  signals  to  pass  the  forts  of  La  Rochelle, 
1'Orient,  Rochfort  and  Brest  without  delay.  As 
the  frigate  La  Belle  Poule  displayed  her  signal 
and  number,  Jones  answered,  giving  the  special 
number  allotted  to  the  Ranger  by  d'Orvillers  before 
sailing.  After  this  signalling  he  communicated  by 
the  ordinary  code  the  fact  that  he  had  two  prizes  under 
his  lee,  which  news  La  Belle  Poule  passed  on  to  the 
Licome  astern,  and  the  two  bore  down  upon  Jones  and 
his  ships.  Once  within  hailing  distance  La  Belle 
Poule  demanded  formally— 

"Who  are  you  and  what  is  your  prize?"  to  which 
Jones  replied,  leaning  over  the  Ranger's  taffrail,  "  The 
American  Continental  ship  Ranger,  of  eighteen  guns, 
Captain  Paul  Jones,  and  the  man-of-war  prize  is  his 
Britannic  Majesty's  late  ship  the  Drake,  of  twenty 
guns.  The  other  prize  a-lee  is  a  merchant  ship,  not 
armed !  " 

After  this  unexpected  reply  La  Belle  Poule  escorted 
Captain  Jones  and  his  prizes  to  their  anchorage  inside 
the  Point  St.  Mathieu.  All  this  cautiousness  and 
formality  told  Jones  that  the  French  Fleet  was  pre 
pared  for  action,  as  it  had  not  been  when  he  left  Brest 
a  month  ago. 

It  was  past  midnight  when  the  Ranger  let  go  anchor 
and  everything  seemed  quiet,  but  like  wildfire  the  news 
of  the  daring  captain's  return,  with  such  a  prize,  spread 
over  the  town.  kWhen  daylight  broke  and  there  was 
light  enough  to  see,  the  quays  swarmed  with  people, 


PAUL   JONES  159 

and  the  harbour  was  black  with  boats  filled  with  pas 
sengers,  eager  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  Drake  and 
her  conqueror.  They  could  not  believe  the  astounding 
fact,  those  who  had  fought  against  the  ships  of  their 
old  and  invulnerable  enemy,  that  a  free-lance,  with  a 
cockle-shell  of  a  boat,  could  have  accomplished  what 
for  centuries  they  had  believed  impossible.  Still,  the 
ships  were  there,  battered  and  shot-marked,  an  in 
contestable  fact.  Paul  Jones  had  done  the  impossible, 
and  he  lived  to  tell  the  tale.  From  that  moment  he 
was  regarded  as  something  out  of  the  common,  some 
thing  to  be  mentioned  with  bated  breath ;  his  fame  was 
unassailable ;  he  had  earned  for  himself  a  permanent 
place  in  the  history  of  France  and  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

1778 

THE  next  morning  Captain  Paul  Jones  woke  up  to 
find  himself  famous;  almost  overwhelmed  with  the 
flattering  official  and  personal  attentions  of  which  he 
was  the  recipient.  The  very  tangible  proofs  of  his 
victory  stood  forth  before  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and 
even  those  who  had  held  off,  sceptical  as  to  the  merits 
of  the  sailor,  could  not  now  deny  him  the  praise  he 
so  richly  deserved.  The  Due  de  Chartres  was  the 
first  to  come  aboard  brimming  with  congratulations, 
and  for  the  two  days  the  Ranger  lay  in  the  harbour 
her  decks  were  thronged  with  officers  of  the  fleet  and 
citizens,  eager  to  rejoice  with  the  conqueror,  and 
satisfy  themselves  of  the  astounding  fact  that  a 
British  man-of-war  lay  inert  and  harmless  in  a  French 
port. 

Then  the  other  side  of  the  picture  began  to  show, 
and  realities  had  to  be  faced.  The  Ranger  with  her 
prizes  had  gone  to  the  dockyard,  and  the  problem  of 
feeding  and  clothing  three  hundred  men  had  to  be 
met,  with  no  money  from  the  country  he  so  brilliantly 
—and  so  inexpensively — served.  The  Congress  still 
owed  him  over  fifteen  hundred  pounds  for  the  Provi 
dence  and  Alfred,  whose  crews  he  had  paid  out  of 
his  own  pocket.  Paul  had  to  find  means  of  paying 
as  well  as  feeding  those  dependent  on  him.  He  had 

I  Go 


PAUL   JONES  161 

a  letter  for  12,000  livres  from  Congress,  which  he 
had  not  used,  so,  finding  himself  in  straits  for  money, 
he  drew  upon  the  Commissioners  for  24,000  livres, 
which  would  assist  in  refitting  the  Ranger  and  Drake, 
and  contracted  with  a  merchant  by  the  name  of 
Bersolle  to  supply  provisions  to  his  crews  and 
prisoners.  The  three  Commissioners,  with  that  tender 
care  for  their  own  responsibilities  and  obligations, 
which  seems  to  have  been  abnormally  developed, 
promptly  dishonoured  this  draft,  putting  Jones  in  a 
positon  of  frightful  embarrassment. 

"Could  I,"  he  wrote  them  on  May  27th,  "suppose 
that  my  letters  of  the  ninth  and  sixteenth  current, 
the  first  advising  you  of  my  arrival  and  giving  refer 
ence  to  the  events  of  my  expedition ;  the  last  advising 
you  of  my  draft  in  favour  of  Monsieur  Bersolle  for 
24,000  livres  (and  assigning  reasons  for  that  demand) 
had  not  made  due  appearance,  I  would  hereafter,  as 
I  do  now,  enclose  copies.  Three  posts  have  already 
arrived  here  from  Paris  since  Comte  d'Orvillers 
showed  me  the  answer  which  he  received  from  the 
minister  to  the  letter  which  enclosed  mine  to  you. 
Yet  you  remain  silent.  M.  Bersolle  has  this  moment 
informed  me  of  the  fate  of  my  bills;  the  more  extra 
ordinary,  as  I  have  not  yet  made  use  of  your  letter 
of  credit  of  the  loth  January  last,  whereby  I  then 
seemed  entitled  to  half  the  amount  of  my  last  draft, 
and  I  did  not  expect  to  be  thought  extravagant  when 
on  the  1 6th  current  I  doubled  that  demand.  Could 
this  indignity  be  kept  secret  I  should  disregard  it; 
and  though  it  is  already  public  in  Brest  and  in  the 


162  PAUL   JONES 

fleet,  as  it  affects  only  my  private  credit  I  will  not 
complain.  I  cannot,  however,  be  silent  when  I  find 
the  public  credit  is  involved  in  the  same  disgrace. 
I  conceive  this  might  have  been  prevented.  To  make 
me  completely  wretched,  M.  Bersolle  had  told  me 
that  he  now  stops  his  hand,  not  only  of  the  necessary 
articles  to  refit  the  ship,  but  also  of  the  daily  pro 
visions.  I  know  not  where  to  find  to-morrow's  dinner 
for  the  great  number  of  mouths  that  depend  on  me 
for  food.  Are,  then,  the  Continental  ships  of  war  to 
depend  on  the  sale  of  their  prizes  for  a  daily  dinner 
for  their  men  ?  '  Publish  it  not  in  Gath.'  My  officers, 
as  well  as  men,  want  clothes,  and  the  prizes  are 
precluded  from  being  sold  before  farther  orders  arrive 
from  the  minister.  I  will  ask  you,  gentlemen,  if  I 
have  deserved  all  this?  Whoever  calls  himself  an 
American  ought  to  be  protected  here.  I  am  unwilling 
to  think  that  you  have  intentionally  involved  me  in 
this  sad  dilemma  at  a  time  when  I  ought  to  expect 
some  enjoyment." 

What  a  cruel  predicament;  if  the  other  two  Com 
missioners  were  indifferent  to  the  fate  of  Jones  and 
his  crews,  why  did  not  Franklin  do  something  for 
his  friend  ?  Certainly,  with  their  opportunities,  money 
could  have  been  borrowed  if  the  funds  in  hand  were 
not  sufficient.  It  was  not  hard  to  get  the  speculative 
French  to  gamble  on  the  chance  of  the  ultimate 
victory  of  the  revolting  colonists.  Yet,  incredible 
as  it  sounds,  he  was  left  for  a  month  without  the 
Commissioners  relieving  the  impossible  situation. 
'  Two  hundred  prisoners  of  war,  a  number  of  sick 


PAUL   JONES  163 

and  wounded,  and  a  ship  after  a  severe  engagement, 
in  want  of  stores  and  provisions.  Yet,"  he  tells  the 
King  in  his  journal,  "  during  that  time,  by  his  personal 
credit  with  Comte  d'Orvillers,  the  Duke  de  Chartres 
and  the  Intendant  of  Brest,  he  fed  his  people  and 
prisoners,  cured  his  wounded,  and  refitted  both  the 
Ranger  and  Drake  for  sea." 

A  piece  of  remarkable  luck,  due  wholly  to  the 
friendship  of  those  Frenchmen  who  liked  him,  and 
helped  him  to  care  for  the  starving  and  wounded 
creatures  who  fought  so  splendidly  for  a  country  that 
neither  fed  them  nor  cared  for  their  welfare,  who  were 
only  kept  from  starvation  by  the  efforts  of  a  Scotch 
man  and  the  generosity  of  his  French  sympathisers. 
The  strange  fatality  which  ruled  Paul  Jones's  meteoric 
career  decreed  that  he  was  never  to  taste  the  fruits  of 
his  triumphs  without  a  lingering  flavour  of  bitterness 
at  the  moment  when  life  seemed  brightest.  Jealousy 
he  had  already  experienced;  calumny  had  assailed 
him  in  his  early  years,  and  was  to  attack  him  again. 
He  was  too  brilliant  a  star  in  the  stormy  political 
firmament  to  shine  unnoticed.  Men  liked  and 
defended  him,  women  loved  him;  he  grasped  offered 
opportunities,  and  those  who  sat  inert,  expecting 
fortune  to  pour  her  cornucopia  of  favours  into  their 
laps  hated  him  with  the  envy  of  sordid  spirits,  the 
malice  of  the  unsuccessful.  Fame  was  his  goal, 
ambition  satisfied  his  payment.  The  poet  might 
have  sung  of  him  when  he  wrote— 

"  For  glory  is  the  soldier's  gain, 

The  soldier's  wealth  is  honour." 
L  2 


164  PAUL   JONES 

But  he  had  obstacles  to  overcome  which  would  have 
quenched  hope  in  the  breast  of  a  less  tenacious  man, 
and  at  times  only  his  fatalistic  temperament  carried 
him  through  the  dark  hours  when  failure  seemed 
imminent. 

In  the  crude,  undisciplined  state  of  the  United 
States  Navy,  the  insubordination  of  his  crews,  who 
could  not  seem  to  comprehend  the  idea  that  it  was 
essential  to  act  under  orders  as  a  machine,  without 
reference  to  individual  preference,  was  the  great 
annoyance  Jones  had  to  contend  with.  He  alludes 
to  it  in  the  journal  he  wrote  for  King  Louis,  which 
that  undecided  monarch  read  at  his  leisure  in  the 
Temple  some  years  later. 

"Almost  on  the  instant  of  beginning  the  engage 
ment  between  the  Drake  and  the  Ranger,  the  lieu 
tenant  (Simpson),  having  held  up  to  the  crew  that, 
being  Americans  fighting  for  liberty,  the  voice  of  the 
people  should  be  taken  before  the  Captain's  orders 
were  obeyed,  they  rose  in  a  mutiny ;  and  that  Captain 
Jones  was  in  the  utmost  danger  of  being  killed  or 
thrown  overboard."  Though  not  mentioned  in  the 
official  report,  there  is  no  occasion  to  doubt  its  truth, 
as  while  the  Ranger  waited  a  refit  at  Brest,  Simpson, 
hoping  to  supersede  the  Captain,  lost  no  opportunity 
of  encouraging  mutiny  among  the  crew. 

"As  Lieutenant  Simpson,  while  under  arrest  on 
board  the  Drake,  had  constant  intercourse  with  the 
crew,  they  thereby  became  so  insolent  as  to  refuse 
duty,  and  all  hands  would  go  below  repeatedly  before 
the  Captain's  face.  It  was  impossible  to  trifle  at  that 


PAUL   JONES  165 

time,  as  Comte  d'Orvillers  had  assured  Captain 
Jones,  unless  he  could  get  the  Drake  ready  to  trans 
port  the  prisoners  to  America  before  orders  arrived 
from  Court,  they  would  in  all  probability  be  given 
up  without  exchange,  to  avoid  immediate  war  with 
England.  It  therefore  became  impossible  to  surfer 
the  lieutenant  to  remain  any  longer  among  them. 
Captain  Jones  had  him  removed  to  the  ship  called 
the  Admiral,  where  the  French  confine  even  the  first 
officers  in  the  service.  He  had  there  a  good  chamber 
to  himself  and  liberty  to  walk  the  deck." 

What  type  of  man  Simpson  was  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  "the  lieutenant  endeavoured  to 
desert  out  of  the  Admiral,  and  behaved  so  extrava 
gant,  that  Count  d'Orvillers,  without  the  knowledge 
of  Captain  Jones,  ordered  him  to  the  prison  of  the 
port,  where  he  had  a  good  chamber,  and  Captain 
Jones  paid  his  expenses  out  of  his  own  pocket.55  Jones 
displays  a  sort  of  contemptuous  pity  for  Simpson, 
whom  he  considered  weak  and  easily  led  by  "  land 
sharks,"  and  described  as  having  the  "  heart  of  a  lion 
and  the  brain  of  a  sheep." 

Jones  ultimately  heard  from  the  Commissioners  that 
they  were  pleased  with  his  victory,  but  all  three,  for 
the  only  time  of  the  same  mind,  unanimously  signed 
a  letter  dishonouring  his  draft ! 

"  It  is  easy  to  comprehend  the  willingness  of  the 
two  extremes  of  Massachusetts  Puritan  and  Virginia 
cavalier  to  sign  such  a  letter  as  that ;  but  the  signature 
of  Benjamin  Franklin  is  not  so  easily  understood. 
However,  it  was  there."  The  sordid  meanness  of 


166  PAUL   JONES 

those  men,  who  sat  comfortably  in  their  arm-chairs 
while  others  fought  their  battles,  was  too  much  for 
fighting  Paul.  He  was  a  hot  champion  of  his  adopted 
country,  and  demanded,  "  Is,  then,  our  cause  become 
so  mendicant  that  men  who  victoriously  defend  it 
must  take  not  only  the  chance  of  death  in  battle,  but 
must  also  face  the  fate  of  beggary  and  even  starvation 
after  they  have  conquered?3'  He  asks  them,  "Are 
the  Continental  ships  of  war  to  depend  on  the  sale 
of  their  prizes  for  the  daily  dinner  of  their  men? 

"  Has  it  come  to  this,  that  I  and  my  truly  poor, 
brave  men  must  not  only  fight  without  pay,  but  also 
compel  our  enemy  to  feed  us  ? " 

The  Captain  was  wrought  to  a  pitch  of  fiery  and 
just  anger.  He  translated  his  letter  to  those  non 
chalant  Commissioners,  and  put  the  French  version 
into  the  hands  of  his  friend  de  Chartres,  who  sent 
it  to  Maurepas,  and  he  passed  it  on  to  Calonne.  His 
friends  persuaded  Jones  not  to  print  it  in  the  Journal 
de  la  Marine,  one  of  the  Brest  weekly  papers,  as  he 
threatened;  goodness  knows  why,  as  the  whole  thing 
was  a  secret  de  P olickmelle ;  so,  over-persuaded,  he 
refrained  from  giving  this  well-deserved  publicity 
to  the  attitude  of  the  Commissioners.  Adding  insult 
to  injury,  these  gentlemen  informed  Jones  that  he 
should  have  applied  to  a  "  fiscal  agent "  by  the  name 
of  Schweighauser,  "who  is  the  person  regularly 
authorised  to  act  as  Continental  agent  at  Brest." 
Jones  knew  nothing  of  this  "  fiscal  agent,"  and  made 
no  reference  to  his  existence  when  he  wrote  to  the 
men  who  were  enjoying  the  luxurious  quarters  pro- 


PAUL   JONES  167 

vided  by  Le  Ray  de  Chaumont  and  the  social  gaieties 
of  Paris,  while  he  moved  heaven  and  earth  to  get 
bread  to  put  in  the  mouths  of  their  starving  country 
men.  Having  tried  in  vain  to  get  some  recognition, 
to  say  nothing  of  money,  from  them,  Jones  took 
matters  into  his  own  hands,  as  no  one  seemed  able 
or  willing  to  help  him.  He  had  an  interview  with 
Bersolle,  and  "  offered  to  arrange  for  the  hypotheca 
tion  of  the  Baltic  prize  and  cargo  for  the  supplies 
his  crew  and  prisoners  needed."  To  this  Bersolle, 
who  knew  something  of  marine  law  and  admiralty 
jurisprudence,  demurred,  as  he  told  Jones  that, 
without  the  concurrence  of  the  American  Commis 
sioners,  he  would  be  unable  to  dispose  of  the  ship, 
as  he  could  not  give  a  clear  title.  But  Jones  knew 
his  ground,  his  reply  showing  him  as  something  of  a 
lawyer;  and  undoubtedly  he  did  not  act  without  advice 
from  those  high  in  French  authority. 

"  In  strict  point  of  the  law  of  nations  you  must 
consider  me  not  in  any  way  a  servant  of  any  master 
but  Congress  itself,  so  far  as  this  purpose  is  con 
cerned.  You,  as  a  subject  of  the  King  of  France, 
have  no  legal  knowledge  that  I  am  responsible  to  the 
Commissioners,  because  you  can  have  no  legal  know 
ledge  of  any  power  on  the  part  of  the  Commissioners 
in  the  international  sense;  as  no  edict  recognising 
their  diplomatic  authority  has  been  promulgated. 
You  know  them  only  as  certain  American  persons 
residing  in  a  quasi-official  capacity  near  the  Court  of 
Versailles.  You  have  no  warrant  to  know  them  in 
any  capacity  that  can  supersede  me  here,  because 


168  PAUL   JONES 

I  now  show  you  my  original  commission  from  the 
Congress,  and  my  orders  to  command  the  Ranger,  all 
on  the  first  parchment,  with  no  reference  whatever 
to  Commissioners,  fiscal  agents  or  any  one  else.  You 
may  therefore,  for  present  purposes,  look  upon  me 
as  the  direct  naval  representative  of  Congress  here. 
If  you  doubt  my  point  of  law,  consult  the  chancellor 
of  His  Most  Gracious  Majesty's  dockyard  here.  If 
you  find  that  my  legal  theory  is  right,  then  libel  my 
merchant  prize  at  once  by  the  usual  process  of  your 
local  marine  court,  irrespective  of  any  other  con 
sideration  than  the  debt  due,  and  let  me  know  when 
the  process  is  to  be  served  on  board.  I  will  then 
arrange  in  advance  to  have  my  prize  crew  abandon 
the  libelled  ship,  leaving  her  in  possession  of  the 
bailiffs  in  admiralty.  Then  she  can  be  adjudicated, 
condemned  for  violation  of  the  port  laws,  and  sold 
like  any  other  merchant  ship,  in  default,  in  a  foreign 
port."  ' 

Bersolle,  on  consultation  with  the  legal  authorities, 
found  Paul's  law  to  be  as  sound  as  his  seamanship, 
and,  after  certain  preliminaries,  the  ship  was  sold  at 
auction.  By  order  of  the  Comte  d'Orvillers,  the  stores 
were  bid  in  by  the  naval  storekeeper.  Schweighauser, 
who  shook  in  his  boots  if  he  came  within  a  hundred 
yards  of  Jones,  dared  not  bid  in  the  ship,  so  had  her 
"struck  off"  to  a  French  ship-broker.  After  paying 
all  claims  due  to  Bersolle  there  was  considerable 
money  left  over.  The  whole  transaction  had  been 
quietly  financed,  by  the  kindness  of  d'Orvillers, 
through  a  banker,  and  the  surplus  money  was  used 


PAUL   JONES  169 

to  clear  off  outstanding  debts  and  feed  the  men. 
From  whom  Schweighauser  derived  his  rank  and  title 
of  "American"  or  "fiscal  agent"  is  not  known.  To 
his  great  mortification  he  received  not  the  slightest 
recognition.  Nor  were  the  Commissioners  referred  or 
deferred  to,  for,  as  Jones  remarked,  "  I  could  not 
waste  time  discussing  questions  of  authority  when  my 
crew  and  prisoners  were  starving." 

"  Though  some  call  this  a  high-handed  action,  it 
never  was  disputed  by  the  Commissioners  or 
Congress."  Unquestionably  they  were  glad  to  have 
the  decision  taken  out  of  their  hands.  Though  the 
action  served  its  purpose,  and  debts  were  paid  and 
crews  fed,  it  did  not  wash  away  the  sting  from  the 
heart  of  a  man  whom  procrastination  placed  in  such 
an  awkward  position ;  also,  alas  !  that  it  should  be  so, 
giving  impetus  to  the  rumour  that  he  had  been 
deprived  of  his  command,  and  was  in  disgrace  to  the 
extent  of  his  drafts  not  being  honoured  by  the 
Commissioners.  It  was  one  of  Paul's  black  moments, 
for  an  aspersion  on  his  personal  honour  touched  him 
on  the  raw. 

From  the  first  Paul  had  been  suspicious  about  the 
whole  proceeding,  and,  as  soon  as  he  had  the  leisure, 
set  about  to  investigate.  He  soon  ascertained  that 
most  of  the  "  American  Agents  "  in  French  ports  were 
entirely  in  the  pay  and  under  the  orders  of  Arthur 
Lee,  through  his  "private  secretaries."  They  were 
at  all  ports  where  prizes  were  likely  to  be  brought 
in,  and  conspired  with  the  French  brokers  "to  bid 
in  the  prizes  at  a  far  smaller  price  than  the  real  value. 


170  PAUL   JONES 

'  They  made  snap  sales,  and  then  divided  with  the 
ship-brokers  the  margin  between  the  price  paid  for 
the  prizes  and  their  real  value !  Arthur  Lee's 
signature  to  this  letter  (May  25)  was  natural,  because 
he  or  his  creatures  had  instigated  the  dishonouring  of 
my  draft.  John  Adams's  signature  could  be  explained 
by  his  very  recent  arrival  in  France  and  his  consequent 
lack  of  information  as  to  the  kind  of  people  to  be 
dealt  with.  But  Dr.  Franklin's  signature  to  it  I  never 
could  account  for,  unless  because  his  own  honesty 
was  so  simple  and  pure  that  he  could  not  comprehend 
or  even  imagine  the  existence  of  such  villainy  as  that 
of  Lee's  spies  and  bandits  in  the  guise  of  private 
-secretaries  and  sea  transport  agents.  I  confess  that  to 
wards  the  last  of  my  inquiry,  when  the  evidence  at  my 
hand  left  no  room  for  a  doubt  of  their  guilt,  and  when 
also  I  had  to  admit  the  want  of  means  to  punish  them 
legally,  I  could  never  see  one  of  them  without  feeling 
the  impulse  of  homicide  come  over  me.  Fortunately 
I  held  my  hand.  But  to  this  day  I  cannot  understand, 
even  if  I  can  excuse  myself,  why  I  spared  the  reptile 
life  of  Hezekiah  Ford  in  the  courtyard  of  the  post  inn 
at  Brest,  when  he  was  at  my  mercy,  and  I  had  every 
justification  to  kill  him." 

Hezekiah  Ford  had  lost  no  opportunity  of  keeping 
alive  that  mutinous  feeling  aboard  the  Ranger,  which 
culminated  in  the  arrest  of  Simpson  and  his  subse 
quent  court-martial.  Jones,  "loving  a  brave  man  as 
he  did,  was  always  lenient  to  Simpson,  pardoning 
much  of  his  insolence,  which  he  knew  to  be  the  work 
of  others."  After  Simpson  had  been  imprisoned,  Ford 
got  up  a  petition,  condemning  Jones  and  praising 


PAUL   JONES  171 

Simpson,  which  he  sent  to  the  Commissioners.  He 
induced  seventy-eight  of  the  crew  to  sign  by  telling 
them  that  it  was  the  only  way  they  would  ever  get 
their  pay  or  prize  money.  It  is  more  than  likely  they 
signed  with  small  idea  of  what  they  were  doing,  as 
Ford  was  an  artful  scoundrel  who  twisted  phrases  to 
suit  his  own  ends.  Among  the  signers  were  two  X's, 
the  marks  of  the  slave  boys,  Scipio  and  Cato,  of 
whom  their  master  thought  so  highly. 

Hezekiah  Ford  had  a  narrow  escape  of  his  life 
when  Jones  unexpectedly  learned  of  this  document. 
Tucking  three  pistols  in  his  belt,  Paul  took  himself 
to  the  inn  where  Ford  waited  for  the  Paris  diligence. 

Without  pausing  or  drawing  a  pistol,  Jones,  with 
one  blow  of  that  lightning  arm,  knocked  Ford  down, 
seized  the  coachman's  whip  and  thrashed  the 
scoundrel  till  he  cried  for  mercy.  Big,  long-limbed 
though  the  man  was,  weighing  half  as  much  again  as 
Paul  Jones,  he  offered  no  resistance — just  curled  up 
and  blubbered,  like  the  underhand  coward  he  was, 
while  the  onlookers,  delighted  at  the  fight,  stood  by 
at  a  respectful  distance,  for  the  Captain  bore  the 
reputation  of  being  dangerous  to  meddle  with  when 
aroused.  What  became  of  Hezekiah  after  his  bad 
quarter  of  an  hour  history  does  not  relate.  Six  months 
later  he  was  denounced  as  a  spy  and  a  traitor  by  the 
Virginia  legislature;  the  resolution  being  certified  by 
the  governor  of  Virginia,  was  sent  to  Congress,  and 
Congress,  acting  with  extraordinary  promptness,  for 
Virginia  had  great  influence,  ordered  Ford's  dismissal 
from  the  service  of  the  Commissioners.  How,  then, 
in  face  of  this,  did  Lee  dare  to  keep  hand-in-glove 


172  PAUL   JONES 

with  Ford?  What  the  ultimate  consequences  might 
have  been  one  cannot  say,  for  very  shortly  Ford  took 
French  leave  and  all  the  private  papers  belonging  to 
the  Commissioners  that  he  could  put  his  hands  on, 
and  went  to  London,  where  he  hoped  to  receive  the 
reward  of  his  treachery. 

His  tool,  Simpson,  had  no  pride,  and  wrote  to 
Jones,  begging  him  to  use  his  influence  to  get  the 
Commissioners  to  stop  the  court-martial  with  which  he 
was  threatened.  He  confessed,  once  for  all,  that  he 
was  not  his  (Jones's)  equal  in  any  kind  of  argument. 
"  If  I  have  been  misguided  to  your  detriment,  I  hope 
you  will  attribute  it  to  lack  of  being  able  to  see  through 
the  designs  of  others,  and  not  to  studied  bad  inten 
tions  of  my  own."  He  trusts  Jones  "will  always  think 
of  him  as  an  honest  man,"  modestly  requesting  two 
favours :  first,  that  Dr.  Franklin  shall  order  the 
Ranger  to  America,  with  him  in  command,  "  as  it  is 
well  known  that  you  Ho  not  yourself  purpose  to  return 
in  the  Ranger  to  America,  having  larger  prospects  of 
your  own  on  this  side  of  the  water.  Also,  as  you 
know,  the  crew  of  the  Ranger  was  shipped  for  one 
year,  to  date  from  October  ist,  1777,  when  they  were 
mustered  on  deck,  and  that  year  is  nearly  up.  While 
many  of  them  have  gone  off  in  French  privateers  by 
your  permission,  there  is  yet  about  sixty  of  the 
originals  on  board,  and  they  all  want  to  go  home  by 
the  end  of  their  term,  which  is  their  right,  and  it  would 
not  be  right  to  try  and  hold  them  any  longer,"  all 
of  which  is  very  commendable  reasoning  on  Simpson's 
part,  as  he  wanted  the  Ranger  himself. 

With  his  characteristic  generosity  to  those  beneath 


PAUL   JONES  173 

him,  Jones  used  his  influence  with  the  Commissioners, 
and  it  may  be  added  here  that  Simpson's  brief  career 
was  such  as  to  justify  this  kindness,  though  the 
Ranger  was  taken  in  Charlestown  harbour  when  that 
place  was  captured  by  Sir  Henry  Clinton  in  1780. 

Even  with  all  disagreements  at  an  end  between 
Paul  and  his  lieutenant,  the  obnoxious  "private 
secretaries"  kept  disparaging  rumours  alive.  To 
Stephen  Sayre,  "who,  under  the  patronage  of  John 
Wilkes,  had  been  a  deputy  sheriff  "  before  he  entered 
the  employ  of  Lee,  he  tracecl  these  newly  born 
slanders.  But  Sayre,  a  large,  blustering  man,  with 
great  tales  of  his  prowess  in  the  duello,  seems  to  have 
been  suddenly  bereft  of  those  fire-eating  propensities 
when  unexpectedly  confronted  by  Jones  in  a  coffee 
house  at  Nantes.  On  the  threshold  Jones  paused, 
looking  for  his  man;  he  was  unarmed,  even  without 
his  sword.  Calmly  he  walked  up  to  the  braggart, 
slapped  his  face  soundly,  calling  him  by  the  com 
plimentary  names  of  "  liar  "  and  "  spy."  In  the  pro 
found  pause  that  followed  the  bully  made  some 
attempt  to  grapple,  but  was  no  match  for  the  agility 
of  his  assailant,  who  seized  a  heavy  cane  from  one 
of  the  onlookers,  and  gave  his  traducer  a  thrashing 
he  remembered  to  his  dying  day.  Though  the  noise 
of  the  affray  called  the  police  to  the  spot,  they  saw 
the  uniform,  and  as  they  were  civil  police  and  never 
arrested  officers  of  either  service,  it  ended  there.  The 
company  bowed  elegantly  with  their  cocked  hats  and 
departed,  with  a  douceur  to  drink  to  the  health  of  the 
King  and  le  brave  Capitame  Paul. 


CHAPTER   XIV 

THERE  is  little  doubt  that  in  the  minds  of  most 
people  the  name  of  Paul  Jones  instantly  calls  up  the 
form  of  a  villainous  pirate  seeking  whom  he  could 
devour.  Varied  as  was  his  career,  the  Skull  and 
Crossbones  never  fluttered  from  his  mast-head;  he 
never  commanded  privateer  or  smuggler,  or  sailed  with 
even  a  letter  of  marque.  From  the  day  he  left  the 
merchant  service,  with  the  exception  of  two  years  on 
his  plantation,  he  was  in  the  navy  of  the  United  States, 
and  later  in  the  service  of  Imperial  Russia,  though  still 
holding  his  former  commission.  But  a  century  ago 
the  word  America,  to  the  world  at  large,  invoked  a 
vague  jumble  of  Indians  scalping  captives  at  the  stake, 
bloodthirsty  buccaneers,  and  all  sorts  of  joyful  law 
lessness  in  which  Morgan,  Captain  Kidd  and  John 
Smith,  with  Pocahontas  in  the  background,  rollicked 
shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  jollity  of  universal  brother 
hood.  By  a  process  of  reasoning  the  colonists  became 
desperate  law-breakers,  and  Paul  Jones,  from  the  fact 
of  such  association  with  ships  and  colonists,  developed 
into  the  dare-devil  pirate  of  fiction,  with  red  shirt 
carelessly  flung  open,  displaying  a  brawny  chest, 
luridly  tattooed  with  fearful  and  mystic  symbols.  An 
individual  with  slouched  hat  pulled  low  over  his  vil 
lainous  countenance,  who,  in  place  of  the  necessary 


PAUL   JONES  175 

and  harmless  cigarette,  carried  between  his  clenched 
teeth  a  gleaming  cutlass,  oblivious  of  the  discomfort 
of  such  a  pastime,  when  he  wished  to  rush  hastily 
through  a  narrow  hatchway.  His  sash  bristled  with 
pistols,  which  he  habitually  used  in  target  practice  on 
his  crew  or  to  stimulate  the  exertions  of  such  of  his 
passengers  as  were  occupied  in  the  gymnastic  and 
risky  exercise  of  walking  the  plank.  The  name  of 
the  "  Black  Douglas  "  was  not  more  terrifying  in  his 
day  than  that  of  Paul  Jones;  in  fact,  it  is  quite  un« 
believable  if  there  were  not  authentic  records  of  the 
fact.  Many  a  merchant  would  have  rejoiced  to  hear 
that  he  had  died  the  customary  hanging-in-chains 
death  of  the  pirate  he  never  was,  for,  had  not  his 
desperate  forays  on  unprotected  coasts  and  in  home 
waters  doubled  the  rate  of  insurance  ? 

Paul  Jones  was  the  theme  of  endless  ballads,  chap- 
books  and  prints,  embodying  in  his  person  as  he  did, 
without  recourse  to  the  inventiveness  of  the  writer,  all 
the  romance  needed  to  weave  a  glowing  tale.  His 
personality  was  fascinating,  as  was  the  hint  of  mystery 
and  noble  birth  clinging  to  him;  he  enjoyed  a  noted 
success  in  the  world  of  fashion,  and  became  the 
intimate  of  royalties;  his  unsurpassed  brilliancy  as  a 
commander,  his  conquests  in  love  and  war  created  a 
character  which  for  a  typical  hero  could  not  have  been 
outdone  by  the  most  fertile  pen. 

From  the  date  of  his  death,  1792,  until  the  early 
part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  he  was  the  subject  of 
many  a  tale,  whose  inventors  let  nothing  stand  in  the 
way  of  embellishment.  He  is  generally  described  as 


176  PAUL   JONES 

the  "  son  of  the  Earl  of  Selkirk's  head  gardener,  but 
his  real  father  is  Captain  John  Maxwell,  Governor  of 
the  Bahama  Islands."  In  others,  he  was  left  on  the 
doorstep  of  the  Paul  cottage,  to  be  brought  up  as  one 
of  their  children.  Some  time  in  his  early  infancy  he 
became  a  desperate  smuggler,  rapidly  saved  up  two 
hundred  pounds,  and  in  his  varied  enterprises  got  to 
the  north  coasts,  where  exciting  adventures  came  thick 
and  fast. 

"  Being  impressed  on  a  man-o'-war,  he  availed  him 
self  of  the  first  opportunity  to  escape,  and  the  second 
time  commenced  a  smuggler,  and  assumed  the  com 
mand  of  a  vessel  himself,  appointing  such  of  his 
companions  officers  as  he  knew  from  experience  to  be 
able  seamen.  The  crew  consisted  of  sixteen  persons, 
and  the  vessel  was  provided  with  every  kind  of 
ammunition  and  necessary  for  hazarding  desperate 
adventures,  and  proved  a  most  formidable  annoyance 
to  the  maritime  trade  of  the  whole  kingdom." 

No  sooner  had  war  broken  out  between  England 
and  America  than  he  rushed  off  to  the  latter  country, 
entering  into  negotiations  with  "  Silas  Deane  and 
others,"  to  whom  he  offered  "  very  valuable  communi 
cations  and  intelligence.  He  obtained  from  time  to 
time  several  remittances,"  which  enabled  him  to 
"  cross  the  Atlantic  to  Europe  twice,  to  pick  up  further 
particulars  of  our  coasts.  Upon  this  account  he  is 
generally  said  to  have  changed  his  name,  and  assumed 
that  of  Captain  Paul  Jones.  Government  not  being 
apprised  of  the  sort  of  spy  that  had  arrived  in  the 
country,  he  was  at  liberty  to  go  about  the  capital,  and 


PAUL   JONES  177 

dwelt  for  a  short  time  at  Wapping,"  where,  according 
to  this  narrative,  he  occupied  himself  in  buying  up  all 
the  maps,  charts,  soundings  and  information  having  to 
do  with  the  coasts  that  he  could  get  his  hands  on, 
"all  this  information  making  him  more  valuable  to 
those  who  employed  him."  He  goes  through  stirring 
scenes  in  the  early  part  of  the  revolution,  and,  one  is 
inclined  to  wonder  if  there  is  more  truth  than  fiction 
in  the  comments  the  writer  makes  on  the  fiasco  with 
the  Glasgow,  alleging  that  the  "  Commander  of  the 
Fleet  Ezekiel  Hopkins  was  in  reality  in  the  pay  of  the 
enemies  of  his  country." 

Paul  is  credited  with  a  number  of  voyages  that 
would  have  put  the  Ancient  Mariner  to  the  blush,  and 
taken  several  lifetimes  to  make.  His  failure  to  take 
the  Drake  the  first  time  is  laid  to  the  fact  that  "  the 
mate,  who  had  drunk  too  much  brandy,  did  not  let  go 
the  anchor  according  to  orders,"  and  this  is  amusing, 
for  the  official  report  lays  the  blame  on  the  mate, 
though  the  brandy  is  not  mentioned. 

The  description  of  his  informal  call  at  St.  Mary's 
Isle  is  not  to  be  omitted,  as,  after  some  preliminary 
conversation,  "  Lady  Selkirk  herself  observed  to  the 
officers  that  she  was  exceedingly  sensible  of  their  com 
mander's  moderation;  she  even  intimated  a  wish  to 
repair  to  the  shore,  although  a  mile  distant  from  her 
residence,  in  order  to  invite  him  to  dinner;  but 
the  officers  would  not  allow  her  ladyship  to  take  so 
much  trouble."  Such  a  charming  entente  cordlale 
between  a  peeress  of  the  realm  and  a  piratical  son 
of  the  sea  in  the  midst  of  war  is  quite  idyllic,  and  it 


M 


178  PAUL   JONES 

is  no  wonder  Paul  spared  no  expense  in  returning  the 
family  plate  at  the  earliest  opportunity. 

Paul  had  an  eye  for  stage  effect,  such  as  dressing 
his  men  up  in  "  red  clothes/3  and  putting  some  of  them 
aboard  the  prizes  to  give  the  appearance  of  transports 
full  of  troops.  The  action  between  the  Bonhomme 
Richard  and  the  Serapis  is  thrillingly  described,  being 
illustrated  by  a  lurid  picture  of  "  Paul  Jones  Shooting 
Lieutenant  Grub  For  Endeavouring  to  Lower  the 
American  Flag  to  the  Serapis,  Captain  Pearson,  off 
Flamborough  Head,  Sept.  1779.''  In  this  memorable 
scene  Paul  is  adorned  with  a  pair  of  jet-black  whiskers, 
of  the  "  Piccadilly  weeper"  fashion,  that  would  have 
wrought  havoc  with  the  heart  of  an  Early  Victorian 
beauty.  Considering  the  heated  and  sanguinary 
engagement  in  which  all  parties  were  participating, 
the  exquisite  neatness  of  the  Commander's  white 
trousers  is  most  noticeable. 

To  continue  this  exciting  tale,  the  captain  of  the 
Serapis,  "  hearing  the  gunner  express  his  wish  to  sur 
render  in  consequence  of  his  supposing  that  they  were 
sinking,  instantly  addressed  himself  to  Jones,  and 
exclaimed,  '  Do  you  ask  for  quarter?  do  you  ask  for 
quarter?'  Paul  was  so  occupied  at  this  period,  in 
serving  three  pieces  of  cannon  on  the  forecastle,  that 
he  remained  totally  ignorant  of  what  had  occurred  on 
deck.  He  replied,  however,  '  I  do  not  dream  of  sur 
rendering,  but  I  am  determined  to  make  you  strike ! ' 
In  this  dilemma,  Lieutenant  Grub  proceeded  directly 
to  tear  the  stripes  from  the  stump  they  had  been  nailed 
to.  The  Commodore  caught  him  in  this  disgraceful 


PAUL   JONES  179 

act,  and  shot  him  instantly  with  a  boarding-pistol, 
which,  as  it  is  a  circumstance  of  remarkable  temerity, 
has  as  often  been  asserted  as  denied,  and  not  seldom 
misrepresented ;  but  the  reader  is  assured  of  the  fact, 
which  came  from  the  most  undoubted  authority,  that 
of  Lieut.  Wm.  Grub's  widow.' ' 

Alas,  for  the  veracity  of  "  Wm.  Grub's  widow "  ! 
The  roster  of  the  Bonhomme  Richard  shows  but  one 
of  that  name,  and  he,  "  Beaumont  Grub,  midshipman," 
was  "absent  and  not  in  action."  And  in  the  ship's 
log  there  is  no  mention  of  Jones  having  shot  any  one. 

As  many  famous  actors  used  to  play  classical  parts 
in  contemporary  periwigs  and  red-heeled  shoes,  copy 
ing  the  exaggerated  dress  of  the  fops  who  patronised 
them,  so  fashion  has  left  its  stamp  on  the  mass  of 
prints  handed  down  to  us.  Pictures  of  Paul  Jones 
vary  as  much  as  the  histories  of  him,  and  even  in  the 
portraits  by  recognised  artists,  his  eyes  rival  the 
chameleon,  sometimes  black,  at  others  an  innocuous 
bluish-purple,  as  in  the  miniature  at  the  Hermitage, 
St.  Petersburg;  while  that  painted  by  the  Comtesse 
de  la  Vandhal,  which  was  his  favourite  portrait,  gives 
him  eyes  of  a  dark  but  elusive  hazel.  In  a  print  of 
the  Grub  incident,  issued  in  1826,  Paul  and  the  non 
existent  Grub  are  depicted  with  resplendent  ebony 
whiskers,  while  in  an  earlier  one,  about  1803,  when 
these  adornments  were  not  fashionable,  they  are  guile 
less  of  such  attractions,  though  Paul  is  shown  with  a 
beautiful  nose,  strongly  reminiscent  of  the  Iron  Duke. 
He  also  wears  top-boots,  and  Mr.  Grub  is  stylishly 
clothed  in  striped  trousers,  which  add  a  certain  eclat 


M  2 


180  PAUL   JONES 

to  the  scene  of  battle.  The  Comtesse  de  la  Vandhal's 
miniature  presents  him  as  a  man  of  fashion  in  all  the 
nicety  of  Court  dress,  but  above  all,  Houdon's  bust 
is  the  most  characteristic,  reproducing  the  keen, 
shrewd,  strong  features,  the  forceful  concentration,  the 
virility  of  purpose  and  doggedness,  without  which  he 
could  never  have  succeeded.  The  artist's  conception  of 
him  is  as  varied  as  the  historian's  idea  of  his  character. 
From  a  low-browed,  snub-nosed,  villainous  individual, 
with  a  negligee  shirt  and  sash  full  of  pistols,  to  one 
wherein  he  resembles  "  the  Father  of  his  Country," 
if  that  gentleman  ever  appeared  minus  his  wig  in  the 
stress  of  battle,  they  run  the  gamut.  He  had  remark 
ably  well-shaped  hands,  as,  in  the  three-quarter 
portraits  of  him,  this  fact  is  generally  emphasised, 
unless,  after  the  fashion  of  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  one 
pair  of  elegant  hands  served  the  artist  of  his  day  as 
models  for  every  sitter. 

As  is  the  case  with  a  man  who  had  such  ardent 
admirers,  Paul  had  his  detractors,  bitter  and  un 
scrupulous,  unsparing  in  their  malignant  slanders. 
He  is  supposed,  after  having  completed  his  "servi 
tude  "  with  Captain  Johnson,  to  have  "  signed  articles 
with  Captain  Baines,  who  was  then  in  the  Guinea 
trade;  and  here  his  cruel  disposition  blazed  forth  in 
its  proper  colours  by  his  attempt  to  sink  and  destroy 
the  ship  and  cargo,  in  consequence  of  a  slight  repri 
mand  from  the  captain,  who  was  a  man  that  bore  an 
excellent  character  for  justice  and  humanity  to  his 
inferiors.  For  this  offence  he  was  brought  home  in 
irons;  but  owing  to  some  defect  in  the  evidence  pro- 


PAUL   JONES  181 

duce'd  on  his  trial,  he  was  acquitted  of  the  charge." 
After  admitting  that  this  voyage  changed  Paul's  views 
of  a  seafaring  life,  and  made  him  stay  ashore,  the 
writer  naively  remarks  :  "  We  are  sorry  to  observe  that 
in  this  part  of  the  history  we  have  no  favourable  record 
to  make  of  the  wanderings  of  our  turbulent  hero." 

Though  every  moment  of  these  years  is  now 
accounted  for,  this  anonymous  writer,  more  remarkable 
for  his  total  abstention  from  the  truth  than  anything 
else,  endows  young  Paul  with  characteristics  that 
would  put  the  rakes  of  the  Restoration  to  the  blush. 

"After  committing  a  number  of  excesses  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  his  patron's  residence  "  —the  patron 
being  Lord  Selkirk,  who,  it  is  an  authentic  fact,  Paul 
Jones  had  never  seen,  though  his  father  is  assigned 
to  him  as  gardener,  and  his  services  with  Mr.  Craik 
ignored — "he  attempted  to  seduce  (and  but  too  suc 
cessfully  succeeded)  the  virtue  of  some  three  young 
women  of  some  respectability;  two  of  whom  soon 
after  became  pregnant.  The  evil  did  not  stop  here; 
it  appears  he  was  resolved  upon  completing  the 
wretchedness  of  his  victims,  and  placing  his  own 
villainy  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt.  For  it 
was  no  sooner  known  by  Paul  that  the  young  persons 
were  in  a  thriving  way,  than  he  endeavoured,  by  his 
artifices  and  insinuations,  to  prevail  upon  each  of  them 
to  form  an  acquaintance  with  a  wealthy  farmer,  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  making  him  father  the  unfortunate 
and  innocent  offspring !  And  it  is  a  fact  generally 
accredited,  that  he  completely  succeeded  in  this 
abominable  design." 


182  PAUL   JONES 

Not  satisfied  with  this  scandal,  it  continues,  "  From 
the  respect  the  Earl  of  Selkirk  had  for  his  father, 
young  Paul  was  admitted  into  the  house  as  a  domestic, 
but  not  without  some  excellent  admonitions  from  his 
father,  who  earnestly  entreated  him  to  leave  the  dis 
solute  part  of  his  companions  and  take  himself 
seriously  to  amend  his  life.  In  this,  as  in  many  other 
cases,  it  proved  only  loss  of  time  to  reason  with  so 
depraved  a  character,  for  he  had  no  sooner  got  into 
this  situation,  than  he  paid  his  addresses  to  one  of  the 
females  in  the  house,  and  who  very  prudently  refused 
to  accept  them.  But  Paul  had  made  sure  of  this  prize 
also,  and  determined  to  run  all  hazards  rather  than 
forgo  the  objects  of  his  pursuits.  He  accordingly 
watched  an  opportunity  when  he  saw  her  enter  the 
dairy,  and  immediately  rushed  in  and  fastened  the 
door  after  him,  he  then,  in  the  most  deliberate  manner 
proceeded  to  insult  the  terrified  woman,  and  had 
nearly  accomplished  her  ruin,  when  her  repeated 
shrieks  brought  the  Earl  (who  was1  at  that  time 
near  the  spot) "  —evidently  being  an  inquisitive  peer 
with  an  interest  in  dairy  farming — "  to  her  assistance. 
So  flagrant  an  act  of  injustice  could  not  easily  be  for 
gotten,  and  in  lofty  language  the  Earl  banished  such 
a  desperate  character  from  his  estates,"  this  reason 
being  very  ingeniously  made  the  motive  for  the 
attempt  to  carry  off  Selkirk  some  years  later. 

And  the  reader  will  learn,  "  Paul's  hatred  to  the 
Earl,  from  this  occurrence,  was  continually  rankling 
in  his  bosom;  and  that  he  embraced  the  first  oppor 
tunity  for  retaliating/5 


PAUL   JONES  183 

Not  satisfied  yet,  Paul  became  a  smuggler,  and 
married  a  "beautiful  farmer's  daughter  with  three 
hundred  pounds."  But  life  ashore  becoming  monoto 
nous,  he  again  headed  his  smuggler's  band,  running 
into  "a  port  in  France,  and  after  most  tempestu 
ous  weather  (during  which  Paul  actually  threw  a 
man  overboard  for  a  trifling  disobedience  of  orders !) 
arrived  at  Boulogne,  where  the  cargo  was  disposed  of, 
to  a  great  disadvantage  from  the  damage  it  sustained 
in  the  last  storm." 

If  Paul  had  lived  a  few  years  later  he  would  have 
been  one  of  the  shining  lights  among  the  "  Latter  Day 
Saints,"  for  "  our  hero  now  turned  his  thoughts  towards 
a  smirking  widow  " — not  having  haH  the  benefit  of  the 
immortal  Mr.  Weller's  advice — "the  mistress  of  the 
hotel  where  he  too  haH  lodgings  during  his  stay  in 
Boulogne."  But  this  "merry  widow"  was  well  able 
to  take  care  of  herself,  and  "  after  using  every  kind 
of  stratagem  for  three  months  successively  without 
being  able  to  prevail  upon  the  fair  hostess  to  accom 
pany  him  to  the  altar  of  Hymen,  he  deposited  two 
hundred  guineas  as  a  proof  of  the  sincerity  of  his 
intention  to  return  and  render  her  completely  happy, 
and  then  took  an  affectionate  leave."  Once  on  the 
seas  he  reverted  to  the  joys  of  a  smuggler's  life. 
"  Rightfully  judging  that  Dover  was  an  eligible  situa 
tion,  he  hired  a  capital  house  there,  and  figured  as  a 
first-rate  merchant.  Having  a  confidential  superin 
tendent,  he  had  many  opportunities  of  visiting  the 
whole  coast;  and  in  one  of  his  excursions,  falling  in 
with  a  number  of  associates,  they  formed  the  resolution 


184  PAUL   JONES 

of  boarding  an  armed  vessel  in  the  Downs,  which  had 
been  fitted  out  by  our  merchants  to  act  against  the 
Barbary  cruisers.  Enterprising  and  auclacious  as  this 
undertaking  was,  from  the  numerous  revenue  cutters 
usually  stationed  in  the  Downs,  they  completely 
succeeded ;  two  men  and  a  boy  were  the  only  persons 
on  board,  and  from  their  never  having  been  heard 
of,  the  owners  supposed  the  vessel  had  been  driven 
out  to  sea,  and  that  all  on  boarH  perished." 

Then  Paul  goes  through  a  variety  of  stirring  events, 
vanquishing  customs-house  men,  after  sanguinary 
rights,  landing  under  the  cover  of  dense  fogs,  and 
plundering  houses  of  gold  and  jewels,  to  which  the 
famed  riches  of  Golconda  were  "  as  moonlight  unto 
sunlight."  From  Sussex  to  the  Isle  of  Man  they 
roved,  ultimately  receiving  intelligence  of  some  mer 
chant  ships  laden  with  golH  and  silver,  which  they 
took,  "and  that  not  one  of  the  richest;  but  Paul  Jones, 
finding  himself  entitled  to  a  share  amounting  to  up 
wards  of  five  hundred  pounHs,  (determined  to  pursue 
his  amour  at  Boulogne." 

Where,  during  all  this  time,  was  his  legal  bride, 
"the  beautiful  farmer's  daughter,"  who  does  not 
appear  again  in  the  narrative?  On  reaching  TOrient, 
Paul  generously  presented  "the  vessel  anH  her 
appurtenances "  to  his  companions ;  binding  them, 
however,  in  a  solemn  oath  that  they  should  deal  with 
him  only  in  such  articles  as  were  proper  for  sale  at 
Boulogne  and  the  Isle  of  Man.  .  .  .  Paul  slept  that 
night  ashore;  and  in  the  morning,  after  sending  his 
comrades  a  present  of  twelve  dozen  of  wine  and  a 


PAUL   JONES  185 

liberal  supply  of  fresh  provisions,  set  out  for 
Boulogne.  On  his  arrival  he  was  heartily  welcomed 
by  the  widow,  with  whom  he  had  held  correspondence 
during  the  several  months  of  his  absence."  Bigamy 
had  no  terrors  for  this  roistering  blade,  as  "  in  about 
five  days  they  were  married,  and  having  assumed  the 
character  of  landlord,  he  gave  the  principal  customers 
of  the  house  an  elegant  entertainment.  For  several 
weeks  his  behaviour  was  so  affable  and  condescending, 
and  the  articles  in  which  he  dealt  so  good  of  their 
respective  kinds,  and  so  moderate  in  price,  that  the 
custom  of  the  house  surprisingly  increased.  But 
nature  had  not  made  him  to  keep  within  the  bounds 
of  moderation.  The  idea  of  being  possessed  of 
property  sufficient  to  render  him  independent  of  busi 
ness,  and  the  prospects  of  greater  riches,  swelled  his 
pride  to  that  pitch  that  he  was  no  longer  able  to  act 
under  the  mask  of  humility  that  had  for  some  time 
disguised  his  natural  turbulence."  Just  what  he  did 
is  not  hinted,  "  but  the  customers  were  disgusted  with 
his  shameful  conduct  .  .  .  and  sought  other  places  of 
entertainment,"  so  possibly  Paul  raised  the  prices. 
"  The  decay  of  the  business  inflamed  him  to  a  'degree 
of  the  utmost  extravagance;  and  in  all  probability 
his  wife  would  have  fallen  a  sacrifice  to  the  impetuosity 
of  his  temper  had  not  the  amiable  tenderness  of  her 
disposition  been  capable  of  giving  some  (degree  of 
moderation  to  his  violent,  restless  and  impatient  spirit." 
Apparently  he  had  a  partiality  for  smuggling  trans 
actions  connected  with  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  hearing 
that  the  Earl  of  Derby  was  about  to  sell  it  to  the 


186  PAUL   JONES 

Crown,  he  decided  to  "go  there  and  put  his  affairs 
on  a  firm  footing,  which  he  did,  leaving  his  wife  in 
charge  of  the  hotel.  .  .  .  On  the  high  seas  he  met  his 
old  pirate  crew,  but  waved  his  hand  in  token  of 
greeting/'  upon  which  they  sailed  away  leaving  him 
unmolested.  "  As  soon  as  he  arrived  he  made  the  first 
entry  of  licensed  goods  transported  from  England  into 
the  Isle  of  Man."  Returning  to  Boulogne  he  carried 
on  his  smuggling  until  the  death  of  his  wife,  when 
he  "again  went  to  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  transacted 
some  business  in  the  legal  way  the  better  to  elude 
the  suspicion  of  his  being  engaged  in  contraband 
dealing,"  though,  sad  to  relate,  except  with  the  law, 
smugglers  were  exceptionally  popular  characters, 
helped  by  high  and  low  alike  in  their  efforts  to  foil  the 
"  Preventive  "  men. 

If  he  ever  went  to  see  bride  the  first,  there  is  no 
note  of  the  fact;  undoubtedly  he  did  not,  being  a 
very  much  occupied  individual  with  his  many  sporting 
ventures,  not  "  yet  an  absolute  pirate,  but  a  desperate 
smuggler."  His  crew  was  formed  of  ruffians  of  all 
nationalities,  "  Blacks,  Swedes,  Americans,  Irish  and 
Liverpool  men  were  particularly  welcome  to  him,  and 
in  the  north  of  England  he  was  called  the  English 
corsair."  He  amassed  three  thousand  pounds  in  these 
ventures,  but  his  "  avaricious  mind  had  led  him  to  take 
great  advantage  of  several  of  the  smugglers  with  whom 
he  dealt,  some  of  whom  he  apprehended  might  at 
length  be  provoked  to  lodge  information  against  him 
on  account  of  the  illegal  traffic  he  had  so  long  pur 
sued."  So  he  got  rid  of  his  various  encumbrances, 


PAUL   JONES  187 

and  went  to  keep  a  coffee-house  in  Dunkirk — stocked 
with  the  money  which  he  had  borrowed  from  confiding 
individuals  before  leaving  the  Isle  of  Man.  He  kept 
on  dealing  in  contraband  goods,  but  was  "  driven 
nearly  to  a  state  of  distraction  by  those  to  whom  he 
had  entrusted  his  goods  allowing  them  to  be  seized, 
as  through  his  want  of  precaution  the  goods  had  fallen 
into  the  hands  of  the  king's  officers."  Paul  now  shut 
up  his  house  in  Dunkirk,  and  prepared  to  embark  for 
England,  having  "  previously  remitted  a  small  sum  to 
each  of  the  persons  he  had  defrauded  in  the  Isle  of 
Man;  and  as  they  accepted  of  payment  in  part,  they 
destroyed  every  idea  of  felony,  and  constituted  their 
respective  claims  into  mere  matters  of  debt;  he  was 
therefore  no  longer  under  apprehension  of  prosecution 
from  the  criminal  laws." 

Having  concluded  the  matters  which  brought  him 
to  Rochester,  Paul  re-turned  his  attention  to  the  ladies. 
Taking  a  "  lodging  in  Long  Acre,  where  he  had  not 
resided  many  weeks  before  he  debauched  his  land 
lady's  daughter,  who  removed  with  him  to  Tottenham, 
but  in  about  three  weeks  he  deserted  her,  and  she 
became  a  common  prostitute."  Shocking  to  relate, 
"  Our  hero  now  engaged  in  a  criminal  intercourse 
with  the  mistress  of  a  notorious  brothel  in  the  neigh 
bourhood  of  Covent  Garden,  who  assumed  his  name, 
and  passed  under  the  character  of  his  wife."  But 
again  was  he  bereaved,  "  the  woman  being  seized  with 
a  fit  of  apoplexy,  she  expired  while  he  was  examining 
some  accounts  in  a  parlour  adjoining  to  her  bedroom. 
He  no  sooner  discovered  her  situation,  than  he 


188  PAUL   JONES 

searched  her  pockets,  and  taking  her  keys,  secreted 
all  her  ready  money,  and  some  other  valuable  effects, 
amounting  in  the  whole  to  about  three  hundred 
pounds,  and  then  absconded  with  his  booty."  Moving 
to  Paternoster  Row,  where  he  gambled  recklessly, 
until  reduced  to  the  sum  of  ,£108,  with  which,  after 
a  good  deal  of  brawling  in  billiard-rooms  and  pot 
houses,  he  again  went  to  sea  as  a  smuggler,  "  com 
mitting  many  depredations  along  the  coast,  and 
capturing  a  Spanish  galleon  of  inestimable  treasure, 
which  struck  on  a  rock,  going  to  the  bottom  with  all 
hands  on  board.  There  were  innumerable  merchant 
vessels  that  found  him  unpleasantly  on  the  alert,  and 
on  one  foray  he  went  to  Whitehaven,  where  he  seized 
a  young  woman  while  she  was  standing  on  the  wharf, 
and  placed  her  in  the  hold ;  and  the  following  day  he 
enticed  a  publican  on  board,  and  immediately  got 
under  weigh.  The  man  returned  several  years  after, 
but  the  woman  has  never  been  heard  of  since." 

Now  all  this  is  an  amazing  tissue  of  lies,  as  Paul 
Jones  was  born  in  1757  and  went  to  America  in  1773, 
he  was  less  than  seventeen  when  most  of  these  dis 
reputable  adventures  were  being  enacted.  Is  it  odd 
that  he  was  spoken  of  with  bated  breath,  shunned  as 
more  dangerous  than  the  plague,  and  that  mothers 
hushed  naughty  children  with  the  invocation  of  his 
name?  His  services  in  France  and  Russia  are 
ignored,  and  he  is  sent  to  Kentucky,  where  he  gained 
great  wealth  and  estates,  dying  in  the  early  eighteen 
hundreds. 

In  a  three-volume  romance  by  Allan  Cunningham, 


PAUL   JONES  189 

Paul  dies  in  Paris,  poor  and  miserable,  wrapped  in 
his  cloak  on  a  truckle  bed,  just  as  he  is  about  to  receive 
the  appointment  of  commander  of  the  Republican 
navy;  Fenimore  Cooper  wrote  of  him  in  The  Pilot, 
and  Thackeray  in  Dennis  Duval;  and  Dibden  wrote 
a  "  melodramatic  romance"  about  him,  which  was 
played  at  the  Metropolitan  minor  theatres,  and  the 
great  Dumas  took  him  as  the  subject  of  one  of  his 
least-known  novels,  under  the  title  of  Captain  Paul. 
In  this  book  he  is  the  natural  son  of  a  great  French 
family,  a  beneficent  deus  ex  machina  to  his  left- 
handed  brothers  and  sister,  whom  he  showers  with 
favours.  On  the  many  voyages  which  he  made 
to  the  West  Indies,  he  always  visited  this  sister 
and  her  husband,  who  was  governor  of  Guadeloupe. 
The  story  floats  in  hysterical  tears,  in  which  Paul  joins 
frequently,  finally  disappearing,  after  a  touching  scene 
with  his  mother,  who  presses  on  his  acceptance  a 
diamond-encrusted  miniature  of  his  long  dead  father, 
the  Comte  de  Morlaix.  This,  for  twenty-five  years, 
the  secretive  lady  had  kept,  unknown  to  her  husband, 
who  shot  Paul's  father  in  a  duel,  where  the  latter 
refused  to  fire;  an  incident  so  disturbing  to  his  mind 
that  he  went  mad.  It  is  a  great  jumble,  with  all  the 
elements  of  purest  melodrama.  That  very  puissant 
lady,  Margaret  Blanche  de  Sable,  Marquise  d'Auray, 
his  mother,  was  an  austere  character  with  a  great 
reputation  for  piety,  and  her  children  stood  in  whole 
some  awe  of  her.  She  must  be  pardoned  her  early 
indiscretion,  for  she  had  been  engaged  to  the  Comte 
de  Morlaix,  when,  alack !  a  sort  of  Montagu-Capulet 


190  PAUL   JONES 

unpleasantness  happened,  and  the  lovers  were  parted. 
Dumas,  with  most  unusual  inaccuracy,  buries  his  hero 
in  Pere  la  Chaise,  which  was  not  opened  until  1804. 

The  ballad  writers  sang  in  praise  of  his  deeds,  quite 
unfettered  by  hampering  truth,  and  the  following  is 
one  of  the  best  examples.     It  begins — 
PAUL  JONES 

(From  the  collection  of  A.  M.  Broad  ley,  Esq.) 
*'  An  American  frigate,   called  the  Rachel  by  name, 
Mounted  guns  forty-four,  from  New  York  she  came, 
To  cruise  in  the  Channel  of  old  England's  fame, 
With  a  noble  commander,   Paul  Jones  was  his  name. 
We  had  not  cruised  long  when  two  sails  we  espied, 
A  large  forty-four,   and  a   twenty  likewise. 
Fifty  bright  shipping,   well  loaded  with  store, 
And  the  convoy  stood  in  for  the  old  Yorkshire  shore." 

It  goes  on  to  relate  how  they  came  alongside,  with  the 
customary    interview   through    the    speaking-trumpet, 
and  says — 
"  We  fought  them  four  glasses,  four  glasses  so  hot, 

Till  forty  bold  seamen  lay  dead  on  the  spot, 

And  fifty-five  more  lay  bleeding  in  gore, 

While  the  thun'dring  large  cannons  of  Paul  Jones  did  roar." 

The  fight  continued  amid  much  smoke  of  battle,  and 

"  Paul  Jones  he  then  smiled,  and  to  his  men  did  say, 
'  Let  every  man  stand  the  best  of  his  play,' 
For  broadside  for  broadside  they  fought  on  the  main  ; 
Like  true  buckskin  heroes,  we  returned  it  again. 

The  Cerapus  wore  round  our  ship  for  to  rake, 

Which  made  the  proud  hearts  of  the  English  to  ache, 

The  shot  flew  so  hot  we  could  not  stand  it  long, 

Till  the  bold   British  colours  from  the  English  came  down. 

And  now,  my  bold  boys,  we  have  taken  a  rich  prize, 
A  large  forty-four,  and  a  twenty  likewise  ; 
To  help  the  poor  mothers,  that  have  reason  to  weep, 
For  the  loss  of  their  sons  in  the  unfathomed  deep." 


CHAPTER   XV 
1778 

WHEN  Paul  Jones  relinquished  his  command  of  the 
Ranger  to  Simpson,  it  was  on  the  definite  promise  of 
the  French  government  that  he  was  to  have  the  frigate 
Indlen  over  which  there  had  been  so  much  bickering ; 
without  this  promise  he  certainly  would  not  have  cut 
himself  adrift  from  the  United  States  Navy,  an  action 
leaving  him  without  occupation  or  employment  in  a 
foreign  country.  Jones  had  one  great  failing,  and  this 
was,  being  a  man  who  lived  up  to  his  word,  he  never 
could  be  made  to  realise  that  there  were  many  men  on 
whom  such  an  obligation  was  not  binding ;  and,  in  this 
instance  of  the  Indien,  the  promise  was  known  to  and 
approved  by  Dr.  Franklin,  who  spoke  of  it  in  his 
letter,  dated  June  10,  1778,  alluding  to  the  wish  of 
the  Commissioners  to  order  the  Ranger  back  to 
America. 

'  You  will  judge  from  what  follows  whether  it  will 
not  be  advisable  for  you  to  propose  their  sending  her 
back  with  her  people,  and  under  some  other  com 
mand.  In  consequence  of  the  high  opinion  the 
Minister  of  the  Marine  has  of  your  conduct  and 
bravery,  it  is  now  settled  (observe  that  is  to  be  a  secret 
between  us,  I  being  expressly  enjoined  not  to  com 
municate  it  to  any  other  person)  that  you  are  to  have 

191 


192  PAUL   JONES 

the  frigate  from  Holland,  which  actually  belongs  to 
the  government,  and  will  be  furnished  with  as  many 
good  French  seamen  as  you  shall  require.  But  you 
are  to  act  under  Congress  Commission. 

"As  you  may  like  to  have  a  number  of  Americans, 
and  your  own  are  homesick,  it  is  purposed  to  give  you 
as  many  as  you  can  engage  out  of  two  hundred 
prisoners  which  the  ministry  of  Britain  have  at  length 
agreed  to  give  us  in  exchange  for  those  you  have  in 
your  hands."  Here  follow  some  details  as  to  the 
exchange  of  prisoners.  ''  If  by  this  means  you  can 
get  a  good  new  crew,  I  think  it  would  be  best  that  you 
are  quite  free  of  the  old  one;  for  a  mixture  might 
introduce  the  infection  of  that  sickness  you  complain 
of.  But  this  may  be  left  to  your  own  discretion.  Per 
haps  we  shall  join  you  with  the  Providence,  Captain 
Whipple,  a  new  continental  ship  of  30  guns.  .  .  . 

"  It  seems  to  be  desired  that  you  will  step  up  to 
Versailles  (where  one  will  meet  you),  in  order  to  such 
a  settlement  of  matters  and  plans  with  those  who  have 
the  direction  as  cannot  well  be  done  by  letter.  I  wish 
it  may  be  convenient  to  you  to  do  it  immediately. 

c  The  prospect  of  giving  you  the  command  of  this 
ship  pleases  me  the  more,  as  it  is  a  probable  opening 
to  the  higher  preferment  you  so  justly  merit." 

The  French  Minister  of  Marine  notified  the  wishes 
of  his  Most  Christian  Majesty  to  employ  the  American 
captain,  and  the  Commissioners  as  formally  signified 
their  acquiescence.  They  say,  ".We  readily  consent 
that  he  should  be  at  your  Excellency's  disposition, 


PAUL   JONES  198 

and  shall  be  happy  if  his  services  may  be  in  any 
respect  useful  to  the  designs  your  Excellency  has  in 
contemplation." 

"Though  Jones  had  already  some  experience  of 
Marine  Committees,  and  of  the  delays  and  insolence 
of  office,  it  was  quite  impossible  that  he  could  have 
anticipated  all  the  vexatious  annoyance  in  store  for 
him  by  a  proposal  which  at  first  sight  appeared  so  fair 
and  flattering.    He  made  his  acknowledgments  to  the 
minister  in  his  best  style;  but  probably  thought  less 
of  the  "  dignity  of  human  nature,"  the  slang  of  that 
day,  long  before  all  official  connexion  was  finished 
between  them."     The  Epervier  was  the  ship  promised 
for  his  command.    He  suggests  various  enterprises  to 
be  undertaken  by  himself  for  harrying  the  coast  of 
England  and  Ireland.     "  To  take  the  Bank  of  Ayr, 
destroy  that  town,  and  probably  Greenock  and  Port 
Glasgow,  with  the  shipping  in  the  Clyde,"  was  yet 
bolder  design.    "Much,"  he  says,  "might  be  done  in 
Ireland,  where  ships  worth    150,000  livres,   or  even 
200,000,  might  be  seized;  London  might  be  distressed 
by  cutting  off  the  supply  of  coals  carried  from  New 
castle,  the  fishing  at  Campbelton  might  be  destroyed, 
and  many  towns  on  the  north-east  coasts  of  England 
and  Scotland  might  be  burnt  or  laid  under  contri 
bution."    There  was  a  project  of  destroying  the  Baltic 
fleet.     He  emphasises  the  fact  that  "the  success  of 
any  of  these,  or  like  enterprises  will  depend  in  sur 
prising  well,  and  on  despatch  both  in  the  attack  and 
in  the  retreat;  therefore  it  is  necessary  the  ships  should 
sail  fast,  and  that  their  forces  should  be  sufficient  to 


194  PAUL   JONES 

repel  any  of  the  enemy's  cruising  frigates,  two  of 
which  may  perhaps  be  met  at  a  time.  It  is  scarcely 
conceivable  how  great  a  panic  the  success  of  any  one 
of  these  projects  would  occasion  in  England.  It 
would  convince  the  world  that  their  coasts  are  vulner 
able,  and  would,  consequently,  hurt  their  public  credit. 

:'  If  alarming  the  coast  of  Britain  should  be  thought 
inexpedient,  to  intercept  the  enemy's  West  India  or 
Baltic  fleet,  or  their  Hudson's  Bay  ships,  or  destroy 
their  Greenland  fishery,  are  capital  objects." 

As  so  often  is  the  case  where  promises  are  easily 
made,  nothing  materialised.  The  inactivity  and  in 
action  preyed  on  Jones  to  such  an  extent  that  he  wrote 
on  September  13,  1778,  an  "explicit  letter"  to  M.  de 
Sartine,  in  a  few  well-turned  sentences  expressing  the 
honour  which  he  considered  had  been  done  him,  when 
Dr.  Franklin  told  him  of  de  Sartine's  intentions.  He 
alluded  to  his  journey  to  Versailles,  in  response  to 
those  orders,  "  believing  that  my  intended  ship  was 
in  deep  water  and  ready  for  the  sea,"  and  of  his  con 
sequent  surprise  on  learning  from  the  Prince  de 
Nassau,  who  had  just  come  from  inspecting  her,  "  that 
the  Indien  could  not  be  got  afloat  within  a  shorter 
period  than  three  months  at  the  approaching  equi 
nox.  To  employ  this  interval  usefully  I  first  offered  to 
go  from  Brest  with  Comte  d'Orvillers,  as  a  volunteer, 
which  you  thought  fit  to  reject.  ...  I  was  flattered 
with  assurances  from  Messieurs  de  Chaumont  and 
Bandonin  that  three  of  the  finest  frigates  in  France, 
with  two  tenders  and  a  number  of  troops,  would  be 
immediately  put  under  my  command,  and  that  I 


PAUL   JONES  195 

should  have  unlimited  orders,  and  be  at  free  liberty 
to  pursue  such  of  my  own  projects  as  I  thought  proper. 
But  this  plan  fell  to  nothing  in  the  moment  when  I  was 
taught  to  think  that  nothing  was  wanting  but  the 
King's  signature." 

He  speaks  of  "the  inferior  armament,"  which  was 
to  have  been  sent  out  from  1'Orient,  of  which  he 
rejoices  he  did  not  have  the  command,  the  expedition 
proving  a  failure;  and  so  he  uwas  therefore  saved 
from  a  dreadful  prospect  of  ruin  and  dishonour." 

"  I  had  so  entire  a  reliance  that  you  would  desire 
nothing  of  me  inconsistent  with  my  honour  and  rank, 
that  the  moment  you  required  me  to  come  down  here, 
in  order  to  proceed  round  to  St.  Malo,  though  I  had 
received  no  written  orders,  and  neither  knew  your 
intention  respecting  my  destination  or  command,  I 
obeyed  with  such  haste  that,  although  my  curiosity  led 
me  to  look  at  the  armament  at  TOrient,  yet  I  was  but 
three  days  from  Passy  till  I  reached  Brest. 

"Here,  too,  I  drew  a  blank;  but  when  I  saw  the 
Lively  it  was  not  so  disappointing,  as  that  ship,  both 
in  sailing  and  equipment,  is  far  inferior  to  the 
Ranger" 

The  conclusion  of  the  next  paragraph  speaks 
plainly  of  a  lack  of  faith  somewhere. 

"  My  only  disappointment  here  was  my  being  pre 
cluded  from  embarking  in  pursuit  of  marine  know 
ledge  with  Comte  d'Orvillers,  who  did  not  sail  till 
seven  days  after  my  return.  He  is  my  friend,  and 
expressed  his  wishes  for  my  company;  I  accompanied 
him  out  of  the  road  when  the  fleet  sailed;  and  he 

N  2 


196  PAUL   JONES 

always  lamented  that  neither  himself  nor  any  person 
in  authority  in  Brest  had  received  from  you  any  order 
that  mentioned  my  name.  I  am  astonished  therefore 
to  be  informed  that  you  attribute  my  not  being  in  the 
fleet  to  my  stay  at  TOrient. 

"  I  am  not  a  mere  adventurer  of  fortune.  Stimu 
lated  by  principles  of  reason  and  philanthrophy,  I  laid 
aside  my  enjoyments  in  private  life  and  embarked 
under  the  flag  of  America  when  it  was  first  displayed. 
In  that  line  my  desire  of  fame  is  infinite,  and  I  must 
not  now  so  far  forget  my  own  honour,  and  what  I  owe 
to  my  friends  in  America,  as  to  remain  inactive. 

"  My  rank  knows  no  superior  in  the  American 
Marine  :  I  have  long  since  been  appointed  to  command 
an  expedition  with  five  of  its  ships,  and  I  can  receive 
orders  from  no  junior  or  inferior  officer  whatever. 

"  I  have  been  here  in  the  most  tormenting  suspense 
for  more  than  a  month  since  my  return;  and  agreeably 
to  your  desire,  as  mentioned  to  me  by  Monsieur 
Chaumont,  a  lieutenant  has  been  appointed,  and  is 
with  me,  who  speaks  the  French  as  well  as  the  Eng 
lish.  Circular  letters  have  been  written  and  sent  the 
8th  of  last  month  from  the  English  Admiralty,  because 
they  expected  me  to  pay  another  visit  with  four  ships. 
Therefore  I  trust  that,  if  the  Indien  is  not  to  be  got 
out,  you  will  not,  at  the  approaching  season,  sub 
stitute  a  force  that  is  not  at  least  equal  both  in  strength 
and  sailing  to  any  of  the  enemy's  cruising  ships. 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  interfere  with  the  harmony  of 
the  French  Marine;  but  if  I  am  still  thought  worthy 
of  your  attention,  I  shall  hope  for  a  separate  com- 


PAUL   JONES  197 

mand,  with  liberal  orders.  If,  on  the  contrary,  you 
should  now  have  no  further  occasion  for  my  services, 
the  only  favour  I  can  ask  is,  that  you  will  bestow  on 
me  the  Alert,  with  a  few  seamen,  and  permit  me  to 
return  and  carry  with  me  your  good  opinion  in  that 
small  vessel,  before  the  winter,  to  America." 

This  letter  was  shown  to  the  Due  de  la  Rochefou 
cauld,  before  being  sent  to  Franklin,  who,  as  usual, 
reiterated  his  favourite  formula  of  patience.  But 
Jones  wrote  to  him  impetuously  :  "  It  is  in  vain  for 
the  minister  to  pretend  that  he  has  not  ships  to  bestow. 
I  know  the  contrary.  He  has  bestowed  the  Renommee 
and  others  here  since  my  return;  and  there  are  yet 
several  new  ships  unbestowed  at  St.  Malo  and  else 
where.  I  know,  too,  that  unless  the  States  of  Holland 
oppose  it,  the  Indien  can  be  got  afloat  with  a  tenth 
part  of  the  difficulty  that  has  been  represented.  If  I 
was  worth  his  notice  at  the  beginning  I  am  not  less 
so  now.  After  all,  you  have  desired  me  to  have 
patience,  and  I  promise  you  that  I  will  wait  your  kind 
advice  and  take  no  step  without  your  approbation. 
If  it  were  consistent  and  convenient  for  you  to  see 
M.  de  Sartine,  I  should  hope  that  such  an  explanation 
would  be  the  consequence  as  might  remove  every 
cause  of  uneasiness. 

"  I  wish  to  have  no  connection  with  any  ship  that 
does  not  sail  fast,  for  I  intend  to  go  in  harms  way. 
You  know,  I  believe,  that  this  is  not  every  one's 
intention.  .  .  . 

"  I  have,  to  show  my  gratitude  to  France,"  he  adds, 
"  lost  so  much  time,  and  with  it  opportunities  as  I 


198  PAUL   JONES 

cannot  regain — I  have  almost  half  killed  myself  with 
grief.  Give  me  but  an  assurance  that  the  command 
of  the  Indien  will  be  reserved  for  me  and  bestowed 
on  no  other  person  on  any  pretence  whatsoever,  and 
I  will  say  I  am  satisfied.  This,  I  pledge  myself,  will 
be  no  loss  to  France — America  is  not  ungrateful.  The 
noble-minded  Congress  knows  not  the  little,  mean  dis 
tinctions  of  climate  or  place  of  nativity,  nor  have  they 
adopted  any  rule  which  can  preclude  them  from 
encouraging  or  rewarding  the  merit  of  a  stranger  by 
raising  him  even  to  the  first  posts  of  honour.  In  the 
army  there  are  many  instances  of  this.  In  the  navy, 
young  as  it  is,  it  gives  me  particular  pleasure  to  inform 
you  that  Congress  have  given  the  command  of  the  best 
ship  in  their  service  to  a  French  officer,  and  called 
the  ship  the  Alliance  !  " 

These  letters  are  undoubtedly  genuine,  yet  it  seems 
strangely  inconsistent  that  Jones  should  have  appar 
ently  forgotten,  or  ignored,  those  slights  from  Con 
gress,  when  the  promotion  of  subordinate  officers  over 
his  head  wrought  him  to  a  pitch  of  anger  that  was  not 
allayed  by  his  consultations  with  "fiery  Nicholas 
Biddle."  In  all  countries,  influence  played  a  part, 
and,  in  France,  as  in  America,  there  were  many  solicit 
ing  the  commands  aspired  to  by  Jones.  The  French 
Navy,  at  the  moment,  offered  little  chance  for  a 
"future  Jean  Bart";  but  what  of  those  "political 
skippers  "  who  had  so  excited  his  contempt  and  fury 
a  few  years  back  ? 

Again  he  extols  Congress,  saying:  "M.  de  Sartine 
may  think  as  he  pleases,  but  Congress  will  not  thank 


PAUL   JONES  199 

him  for  having  thus  treated  an  officer  who  has  always 
been  honoured  with  their  favour  and  friendship." 

To  le  Ray  de  Chaumont  he  complains,  very 
naturally — 

"  Although  the  minister  has  treated  me  like  a  child 
five  successive  times,  by  leading  me  from  little  to  little, 
and  from  little  to  less,  yet  I  had  more  dependence 
on  his  honourable  intentions,  until  he  refused  the  small 
command  which  you  asked  for  me  the  23rd  ultimo,  and 
afterwards  bestowed  the  Fox  on  a  lieutenant,  who,  to 
my  certain  knowledge,  does  not  thank  him  for  the 
favour,  and  thinks  that  ship  far  short  of  his  right." 
Jones  lost  faith  in  de  Sartine's  promises,  and  refers 
sarcastically  to  the  interview  which  de  Sartine  had 
with  de  Chaumont,  when  the  former  swore  "  by  the 
Styx  that  Paul  Jones  should  have  a  ship  if  he  had 
to  buy  it." 

De  Sartine  did  not  accord  Jones  answers  to  his 
letters,  which  was  a  "  piece  of  incivility  and  disrespect 
to  me  as  a  stranger  which  he  has  not  shown  even  to 
subalterns  in  the  French  Marine,  in  whose  hands  I 
have  seen  his  answers  to  letters  of  little  importance. 
The  secrecy  which  I  was  required  to  observe  respect 
ing  what  seemed  his  first  intention  in  my  favour  has 
been  inviolable;  and  I  have  been  so  delicate  with 
respect  to  my  situation,  that  I  have  been,  and  am,  con 
sidered  everywhere  as  an  officer  disgraced  and  cast 
off  for  private  reasons.  I  have,  of  course,  been  in 
actual  disgrace  here  ever  since  my  return,  which  is 
more  than  two  months.  I  have  already  lost  near  five 
months  of  my  time,  the  best  season  of  the  year,  and 


200  PAUL   JONES 

such  opportunities  of  serving  my  country,  and  acquir 
ing  honour,  as  I  cannot  again  expect  this  war,  while  I 
have  been  thus  shamefully  entrapped  in  inaction.  If 
the  minister's  intentions  have  been  honourable  from 
the  beginning,  he  will  make  a  direct  written  apology 
to  me,  suitable  to  the  injury  which  I  have  sustained, 
otherwise,  in  vindication  of  my  sacred  honour,  painful 
as  it  will  be,  I  must  publish  in  the  Gazettes  of  Europe 
the  conduct  he  has  held  towards  me." 

Franklin  and  Dr.  Bancroft  sympathised  with  the 
offended  captain,  and  Franklin's  grandson,  William 
Temple  Franklin,  who  acted  as  his  secretary,  wrote  : 
"  Monsieur  S.'s  conduct  towards  you  has  been  as 
remarkable  as  it  has  been  unjust,  and  has  altered  in 
a  great  degree  the  good  opinion  many  have  had  of 
him.  I  have  been  asked  in  several  companies,  Ou  est 
le  brave  Capitaine  Jones  ?  que  fait-il  ?  and  have  felt 
myself  (as  your  compatriot)  in  a  manner  ill-treated, 
when  I  can  only  answer  that  you  are  still  at  Brest." 

Young  Franklin  added  the  consoling  information 
that  M.  de  Chaumont  had  "certain  knowledge  M.  S. 
was  ashamed  of  the  conduct  he  had  held  towards  you, 
and  that  he  was  now  occupied  to  make  up  for  it. 
Bancroft,"  says  he,  "  is  assured  that  the  minister  had 
all  along  felt  good  dispositions,  but  had  been  pre 
vented  from  carrying  them  into  execution  by  the 
intrigues  of  487,557  (the  marine),  among  whom  multi 
tudes  were  making  interest,  and  caballing  to  obtain 
303  (ships)  and  opposing  the  disposal  of  any  except 
among  their  own  body;  but  710  (de  Sartine)  had 
assured  him  that  you  should  have  one,  if  he  were 
even  to  purchase  it."  He  gives  Jones  the  inevitable 


PAUL   JONES  201 

temporising  advice  to  "wait  a  week  or  two,  when,  if 
nothing  comes,  I  think  299  (Franklin)  will  declare  his 
utmost  resentment,  and  nothing  that  any  of  us  can  say 
will  be  too  bad." 

Unaware  of  this  terrible  threat,  M.  de  Sartine  still 
procrastinated.  The  Ranger  sailed  under  command 
of  Simpson,  on  July  i6th,  and  on  the  ist  of  October 
Jones  was  still  unemployed,  and  wrote  to  Mr.  Hewes 
on  the  subject— 

"  The  French  have  little  conception  of  expeditions 
such  as  I  propose:  projects  to  harry  the  coasts  and 
destroy  the  commerce  of  the  enemy.  Their  idea  is  to 
leave  all  that  to  privateers,  of  which  I  have  already 
been  offered  a  dozen  commands.  Some  of  the  ships 
they  fit  out  as  privateers  are  really  respectable  frigates 
in  size,  and  I  have  seen  one,  called  the  Monsieur,  that 
mounts  thirty-eight  or  forty  guns.  But  I  do  not  wish 
to  engage  in  privateering.  My  object  is  not  that  of 
private  gain,  but  to  serve  the  public  in  a  way  that  may 
reflect  credit  on  our  infant  navy,  and  give  prestige  to 
our  country  on  the  sea.  .  .  .  Another  obstacle  I  meet 
with  every  day  is  the  jealousy  of  the  French  officers. 
By  this  I  mean  not  the  higher  ranks,  as  d'Orvillers 
and  d'Estaing  and  de  Grasse,  but  the  younger  officers 
in  my  own  grade.  You  must  know  that  the  French 
navy  is  not  merely  aristocratic  like  the  English,  but 
it  is  wholly  a  navy  of  the  noblesse.  You  may  think 
it  incredible,  but  it  is  a  fact  that  a  royal  ordinance  is 
in  force,  not  long  ago  promulgated,  requiring  that 
candidates  for  promotion  from  lieutenant  to  captain 
must  first  of  all  produce  proof  of  noble  lineage  for  at 
least  four  generations  back  of  their  own.  or  must  be 


202  PAUL   JONES 

members  by  heritage  of  the  order  of  the  Chevaliers 
of  St.  Louis  !  This,  as  you  see,  puts  an  end  to  the 
possibility  of  a  future  Jean  Bart." 

Impartially  viewing  the  situation,  such  jealousy  was 
natural.  The  army  and  navy  were  the  only  careers 
open  to  those  nobles,  bred  of  forbears  whom  Louis 
XIV's  command  to  live  at  Versailles,  forever  in  his 
presence,  had  reduced  to  the  condition  of  puppets, 
with  no  ambition  except  to  attract  the  royal  smile. 
The  power  of  independent  nobility  was  dreaded  by 
the  French  throne,  and  it  was  the  policy  of  Louis  to 
have  around  him  at  all  hours  those  who  might  plot, 
if  left  to  their  own  devices.  Commissions  in  either 
service  were  not  gained  without  fierce  and  shameful 
intrigues,  whose  ramifications  extended  indefinitely; 
bribery  played  its  corrupting  part,  and  many  a  portion 
less  sister  prayed  her  wasted  life  away  in  the  convent 
so  her  brother  might  swagger  with  the  bravest  on  the 
money  which  should  have  been  her  marriage  dowry. 

"  It  must,  so  long  as  it  now  stands,  shut  out  talent 
and  merit  from  all  command  rank  in  the  French 
navy,"  Jones  argued  in  the  same  letter.  "  And  in  the 
main,  leave  open  the  door  of  preferment  to  those  only 
who  can  boast  the  favour  of  titled  courtiers,  or  who, 
in  default  of  aptitude  for  the  naval  service,  can  offer 
nothing  but  pedigrees  that  in  most  cases  argue  decay 
rather  than  improvement  of  blood  by  age  of  family." 

This  condition  of  favouritism  was  not  peculiar  to 
the  French  navy,  as  has  been  shown  by  the  incompe 
tent  officers  to  whom  the  United  States  Navy  owed  its 
earlier  failures,  nor  did  Jones  represent  it  in  anything 
but  the  true  light.  He  acknowledged  facts  coldly  to 


PAUL   JONES  203 

Franklin,  which,  in  the  letter  to  de  Sartine  for  some 
reason  or  other,  he  saw  fit  to  view  with  more  partiality. 
"  I  have,"  he  declared,  "excited  the  jealousy  of  many 
officers  in  our  young  navy,  because  I  have  pursued 
honour  while  they  sought  after  profit."  He  laments  : 
"  The  Due  and  Duchesse  de  Chartres  were  sure  I  was 
to  have  two  frigates  lately  ready  for  sea  at  Brest,  one 
of  thirty-six  guns  to  be  my  own  command,  and  the 
other  to  be  commanded  by  a  French  officer,  Captain 
de  Roberdeau,  selected  by  the  Duke,  I  to  be  the 
senior  officer.  To  these  frigates  were  to  be  added  two 
sloops  of  twenty  guns.  But  at  the  last  moment  the 
two  frigates  were  needed  to  join  the  grand  fleet  of 
the  Comte  d'  Estaing,  and  their  commands  were  given 
to  regular  French  officers." 

Being  a  foreigner,  unacquainted  with  the  wheels- 
within-wheels  spinning  so  busily  at  Versailles,  Jones 
never  seems  to  have  had  the  idea  that  his  attempts  to 
get  a  command  might  have  been  more  successful  had 
he  not  been  a  protege  of  the  Due  de  Chartres.  The 
Due  was  greatly  disliked  by  the  King  and  Queen,  and 
hated  by  the  two  antagonistic  political  factions  and 
a  myriad  of  personal  enemies.  The  friendship  he 
showed  for  Jones  was  very  marked,  and,  from  a  prince, 
could  not  fail  to  excite  remark  and  create  envy  in  the 
minds  of  his  associates  on  whom  the  favour  was 
not  bestowed  ;  and — disliked  though  he  was — de 
Chartres  could  not  be  ignored  either  in  society  or 
politically. 

The  intrigues  of  the  French  party  were  not  the  only 
ones  he  had  to  fight,  for  the  Commissioners  were  never 
able  to  agree  upon  the  many  arrangements  of  which 


204  PAUL   JONES 

they  had  the  making,  and  there  was  always  the  annoy 
ance  of  Lee's  treachery  to  counteract  the  few  details 
on  which  they  were  of  the  same  mind.  Jones,  very 
naturally,  resents  "  the  presence  of  English  spies  and 
emissaries  in  pay  of  Lord  North  holding  positions 
under  the  Commissioners— or  one  of  them,  where  they 
have  full  knowledge  of  the  most  confidential  proceed 
ings  and  free  access  to  the  most  secret  papers;  and 
you  must  see  that  the  path  of  any  one  striving  to 
honestly  serve  our  cause  here  is  thick  with  thorns.  .  .  . 
The  Commissioners  have  no  resources  .  .  .  yet,  with 
all  these  sinister  forces  to  contend  with,  do  not  for  a 
moment  imagine  that  I  despair.  I  am  sure  I  will 
succeed  in  the  end,  though  not  quite  as  quickly  as  I 
would  like,  or,  perhaps,  not  on  such  a  large  scale.  But 
I  will  succeed." 

But  the  time  for  success  was  not  ripe,  and  there 
were  hours  when  blank  failure  seemed  to  appear  as 
a  gaunt  spectre,  to  be  swept  away  by  a  chance  word 
promising  the  fulfilment  of  his  desire.  De  Sartine 
was,  undoubtedly,  a  man  of  many  flattering  words  and 
promises,  but  Jones  states  that  he  "  cannot  and  dare 
not  do  what  I  think  he  really  wishes,  because  of  the 
high  and  dangerous  cabals  of  the  French  officers,  who 
urge  that  the  rules  of  the  service  will  not  admit  of 
giving  me  command  of  ships  detached  from  the 
Royal  Marine." 

Possibly  Paul  Jones  did  not  realise  at  first  that 
there  were  many  who  would  have  preferred  him  as 
captain  of  a  privateer  where  his  well-known  daring 
could  reap  rich  profits  for  the  owners  of  the  venture. 
When  at  last  he  did  grasp  the  fact  he  was  highly 


PAUL   JONES  205 

indignant,    and,    on    November    i6th,    wrote    to    Mr. 
Hewes  from  Brest; — 

"  It  is  now  clear  to  me  that  they  do  not  intend  to 
give  me  a  regular  command.  The  minister  (de 
Sartine)  shuffles  all  the  time  with  one  excuse  or 
another.  This  makes  me  believe  that  it  is  the  fixed 
intention  of  the  cabal  to  force  me  into  privateering. 
There  is  a  strong  moneyed  and  political  association, 
well  backed  at  Court  and  including,  I  believe,  not  a 
few  courtiers,  anxious  to  fit  me  out  with  a  squadron  of 
privateers  or  letters-of -marque.  M.  de  Chaumont  is 
at  the  head  of  this  association.  They  will  give  me  at 
least  two  ships  of  forty  guns  each  and  two  or  three 
more  vessels  of  from  eighteen  to  twenty-four  guns,  with 
French  crews,  besides  such  Americans  as  I  can  muster 
in  Brest,  Nantes,  TOrient,  and  Dunkirk,  and  with  such 
a  force  I  am  to  put  to  sea  in  quest  of  plunder  and 
to  enrich  a  few  French  bankers  and  merchants. 

1  You  need  not  be  told,  Mr.  Hewes,  that  this  pros 
pect  does  not  suit  me.  I  am  not  in  pursuit  of  private 
gain  for  myself  or  for  others.  I  hold  commission  as 
captain  in  the  regular  navy  of  the  United  States, 
which,  in  my  estimation,  is  not  to  be  outranked  by  the 
same  grade  of  commission  of  even  date  in  any  other 
navy  in  the  world.  My  sole  ambition  is  to  have 
opportunity  of  fighting  a  battle  in  virtue  of  that  com 
mission,  and  under  our  own  new  flag  among  nations 
which  that  commission  entitles  me  to  fly ;  to  fight  under 
such  auspices  a  battle  that  will  teach  to  the  world,  and 
particularly  to  Englishmen  and  Frenchmen,  that  the 
American  flag  means  something  afloat  and  must  be 
respected  at  sea. 


206  PAUL   JONES 

"  To  a  man  of  your  own  perfect  perceptions  and 
your  own  infallible  sense  of  what  is  proper,  Mr. 
Hewes,  it  is  not  needful  to  say  that  no  such  thing  as 
I  have  expressed  can  possibly  be  done  in  a  private 
armed  ship  or  under  a  letter-of-marque,  flying  no 
matter  what  flag.  To  have  any  effect  in  the  way  of 
prestige  to  our  infant  nation  such  a  battle  must  be 
fought  under  the  commission  that  I  have  been 
honoured  with  by  the  Congress,  and  under  the  flag  of 
our  own  country. 

"  However,  it  wastes  time,  paper  and  ink  to  argue 
this  with  you,  and,  also,  as  the  last  reports  I  have 
from  you  indicate  that  you  are  yet  in  feeble  health 
and  out  of  public  life,  I  shrink  from  the  thought  of 
tiring  you  either  with  the  length  of  my  letter  or  the 
troubles  of  my  situation.  ...  Of  one  thing,  in  spite 
of  all,  you  may  definitely  assure  yourself,  and  that  is, 
I  will  not  accept  any  command  or  enter  upon  any 
arrangement  that  can  in  the  least  bring  in  question  or 
put  out  of  sight  the  regular  rank  I  hold  in  the  United 
States  Navy;  for  which  I  now,  as  always,  acknowledge 
my  debt  to  you  more  than  to  any  other  person." 

There  is  far  too  much  correspondence  to  quote  in 
detail.  The  whole  situation  was  exasperatingly  im 
possible.  No  command,  nothing  definite  for  the 
future,  nothing  but  elegantly  worded,  empty  promises; 
and  this  to  repay  Jones  for  relinquishing  a  command, 
to  remain  in  France,  at  the  very  particular  wish  of  the 
Ministry  of  Marine.  Everything  seemed  to  have  come 
to  a  standstill,  even  Franklin,  the  only  one  of  the 
Commissioners  who  cared  to  do  anything  for  Jones, 
confessed  himself  powerless  to  take  further  steps. 


PAUL   JONES  207 

Worn  out  by  all  this  procrastination,  he  wrote  to  the 
Due  de  Chartres,  explaining  the  matter  at  some  length, 
and  received  the  following  reply— 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  nothing  is  left  for  you  to  do 
but  appeal  to  the  King  in  person.  This  will,  of  course, 
be  unusual,  and  contrary  to  strict  etiquette  of  Court. 
But  his  Majesty  is  a  man  of  generous  sentiments,  and 
I  am  persuaded  that  if  the  real  facts  of  your  situation 
could  be  laid  before  him  he  would  act  in  your  favour. 
My  advice,  therefore,  is  that  you  write  to  him  frankly, 
in  your  own  fashion.  My  good  consort  the  Duchesse 
will  undertake  to  hand  your  letter  to  his  Majesty. 
Her  Royal  Highness  will  also  interest  her  sister-in- 
law,  the  Princesse  de  Lamballe,  in  the  affair,  and  by 
that  means  you  may  have  even  the  acquiescence,  if 
not  the  support,  of  her  Majesty  the  Queen." 

By  one  of  those  strange  coincidences,  one  day,  when 
Jones  was  impatiently  turning  over  an  accumulation  of 
papers,  he  came  across  a  tattered  almanack,  published 
by  Franklin,  and  containing  a  collection  of  philo 
sophical  sayings  called  Poor  Richard's  Maxims.  As 
he  indifferently  glanced  at  the  pages  he  was  struck  with 
the  advice,  if  a  "  man  wishes  to  have  any  business 
faithfully  and  expeditiously  performed,  to  go  on  it 
himself;  otherwise,  to  send."  This  struck  him  as  so 
applicable  to  his  own  position  that  immediately  on 
receiving  the  Due  de  Chartres's  letter  he  went  to  Paris. 
When,  finally,  he  received  his  ship,  the  Due  de  Duras, 
|  he  obtained  permission  from  the  ministry  to  change 
the  name  to  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  in  compliment 
to  the  doctor,  who  used  this  as  his  nom  de  plume. 


CHAPTER    XVI 

1778-1779 

ON  the  3rd  of  December,  1778,  the  Duchesse  de 
Chartres  presented  Paul  Jones's  letter  to  the  King; 
on  the  1 7th  he  was  summoned  to  Versailles  and 
granted  an  audience  lasting  an  hour;  the  details  of 
which,  according  to  etiquette,  never  transpired,  even 
in  the  private  papers  found  after  his  death.  The  fol 
lowing  month  de  Sartine  was  commanded  to  place  a 
ship,  equal  in  tonnage  and  armament  to  the  Indien, 
at  his  orders.  There  is  unintentional  humour  in  de 
Sartine's  letter,  which  commences— 

"  In  consequence  of  the  exposition  which  I  have 
laid  before  the  King  of  the  distinguished  manner  in 
which  you  have  served  the  United  States  .  .  .  the 
King  has  thought  proper  to  place  under  your  command 
the  ship  Duras,  of  forty  guns,  at  present  at  I'Orient," 
the  writer  lavishly  promises  everything  in  his  power 
"  to  promote  the  success  of  your  enterprise/'  all  of 
which  Jones,  after  his  experiences,  must  have  taken 
with  a  very  large  grain  of  salt. 

Captain  Jones  was  to  sail  under  the  flag  of  the 
United  States,  "to  form  his  equipage  of  American 
subjects,"  though,  as  there  might  be  some  difficulty 
in  this,  the  King  allowed  him  to  levy  volunteers  as 
he  saw  fit,  "  exclusive  of  those  who  are  necessary  to 

manoeuvre  the  ship."    He  was  to  cruise  in  European 

208 


PAUL   JONES  209 

or  American  waters  at  his  discretion,  but  to  render 
account  of  his  actions  as  often  as  he  entered  "the 
ports  under  the  dominion  of  the  King." 

This  letter  would  have  easily  convinced  any  one 
not  behind  the  scenes  that  it  was  to  the  incessant  and 
untiring  efforts  of  M.  de  Sartine  that  Paul  Jones  owed 
his  long-deferred  command,  and  the  concluding 
paragraph  does  not  lessen  the  effect.  Possibly,  like 
many  of  those  who  distribute  the  favours  of  others, 
de  Sartine  really  believed  what  he  wrote. 

"  So  flattering  a  mark  of  the  confidence  with  which 
you  are  honoured  cannot  but  encourage  you  to  use  all 
your  zeal  in  the  common  cause,  persuaded  as  I  am 
that  you  will  justify  my  opinion  on  every  occasion. 
It  only  rests  with  me  to  recommend  to  you  to  show 
those  prisoners  who  may  fall  into  your  hands  those 
sentiments  of  humanity  which  the  King  professes 
towards  his  enemies,  and  to  take  the  greatest  care  not 
only  of  your  own  equipage,  but  also  of  all  the  ships 
which  may  be  placed  under  your  orders." 

Paul  affected  to  believe  all  these  rhetorically  im 
pressive  sentiments,  and  wrote,  thanking  de  Sartine 
as  cordially  as  if  certain  contretemps  had  never  been. 
He  expressed  his  obligation  to  the  minister  for  allow 
ing  the  name  of  the  Duras  to  be  changed  to  Le  Bon- 
homme  Richard,  "  as  it  gives  me  a  pleasing  oppor 
tunity  of  paying  a  well  merited  compliment  to  a  great 
and  good  man,  to  whom  I  am  under  obligations,  and 
who  honurs  me  with  his  friendship. 

:f  With  the  rays  of  hope  once  more  lighting  up  the 

prospect,  my  first  devoir  was  at  the  Palais  Royale,  to 
o 


210  PAUL   JONES 

thank  the  more  than  royal — the  divine — woman  to 
whose  grace  I  felt  I  owed  all.  She  received  me  with 
her  customary  calmness.  To  my  perhaps  impassioned 
sentiments  of  gratitude  she  responded  with  serene 
composure,  that  if  she  had  been  instrumental  in  bring 
ing  the  affair  to  a  successful  issue,  it  was  no  more 
than  her  duty  to  a  man  who,  as  she  believed,  sought 
only  opportunity  to  serve  the  common  cause,  now 
equally  as  dear  to  France  as  to  America,  and  that 
she  was  sure  I  would  make  the  best  of  the  opportunity 
that  had  been  brought  about." 

Paul  was  overwhelmed  by  the  graciousness  of  the 
Princess,  and  with  his  intensely  chivalric  and  beauty- 
loving  nature  and  the  romance  which  formed  so 
strong  an  element  in  his  complex  personality,  burned 
to  distinguish  himself  in  the  eyes  of  a  woman  who 
believed  him  capable  of  great  deeds.  Had  he  lived 
a  few  hundreds  of  years  before,  this  romantic  strain 
would  have  found  outlet  in  scouring  arid  deserts  for 
an  oasis,  at  which  grew  fruits  on  an  unclimbable  tree, 
to  lay  at  the  feet  of  an  exlgeante  lady-love  as  a  gage 
d'amozir.  As  it  was,  he  swore  to  "  lay  an  English 
frigate  at  her  feet"-— and  kept  his  word. 

The  interview  was  a  long  one,  and,  he  tells  us, 
"  she  said  there  was  a  more  serious  concern  that  had 
come  to  her  knowledge;  that  she  knew  I  was  not  at 
the  moment  suitably  provided  with  private  resources, 
and  that  in  consequence  she  had  directed  her  banker 
to  place  to  my  credit  at  the  house  of  his  correspond 
ent  in  TOrient,  M.  Gourlade,  a  certain  sum,  the  notice 
of  which  I  would  find  awaiting  me  on  my  arrival. 


PAUL    JONES 

[ /<•;?>;//  the  tcrm-cotta  bust  />,)< 


PAUL   JONES  211 

She  enjoined  upon  me  to  offer  neither  thanks  nor 
protestations  to  her  on  account  of  it."  She  waved 
aside  the  attempted  explanations,  that  Le  Ray  de 
Chaumont  had  made  some  provision  for  expenses, 
and  "quite  impatiently  retorted  that  M.  de  Chau- 
mont's  arrangements  were  not  her  affair,  and  com 
manded  me  to  be  silent  on  the  subject.  Then  she 
dismissed  me  with  a  '  bon  voyage,  ne  moubliez  -pas' 
and  a  pleasant  reminder  that  I  had  long  ago 
promised,  if  fortune  should  smile  upon  me,  '  to  lay 
an  English  frigate  at  her  feet ! '  whereupon  I  took 
my  leave,  and  at  once  set  out  for  1'Orient." 

Thanks  to  the  Duchesse's  munificent  gift  of  ten 
thousand  louis  d'or,  with  its  purchasing  power  of  three 
times  the  sum  to-day,  Jones  was  relieved  of  that 
harassing  bete  noir,  lack  of  funds,  and  able  to  fit  out 
the  Bonhomme  Richard  without  delay.  He  con 
sidered  the  money  as  a  loan,  but  when  he  spoke  to 
the  Due  d'Orleans  in  1786  about  repaying  it,  the 
latter  replied  positively,  "  Not  unless  you  wish  her  to 
dismiss  you  from  her  esteem  and  banish  you  from  her 
salon!  She  did  not  lend  it  to  you;  she  gave  it  to 
the  cause." 

Le  Due  de  Duras,  now  Jones's  ship,  under  the  name 
of  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  was  built  in  1766  for 
the  French  East  India  Company,  from  whom  the 
King  had  just  purchased  her  to  be  used  as  an  armed 
transport.  Twelve  years'  hard  voyaging  to  the  East 
Indies  had  reduced  her  to  a  state  of  very  great 
dilapidation,  and  a  thorough  overhauling  was  im 
perative,  which  took  from  February  till  June,  though 


o  2 


212  PAUL   JONES 

he  "  exhausted  every  endeavour  to  hurry  them,  and 
was  treated  very  fairly  by  the  French  dockyard 
authorities." 

Jones  had  many  changes  to  make  in  the  Bon- 
homme  Richard,  which,  though  a  reliable  ship  for 
passengers  and  cargo,  where  steady  sailing  was  all 
required,  was  in  truth  an  unwieldy  old  craft.  He 
describes  her  as  "  sailing  well  with  the  wind  abaft 
her  beam,"  when  close  hauled  she  "  pointed  up  badly, 
steered  hard  and  unsteady,  and  made  much  leeway. 
She  would  not  hold  her  luff  five  minutes  with  the 
weather-leech  shivering  in  the  fore-topsail,  and  had 
to  be  either  eased  off  or  broached  to  quickly  or  she 
would  fall  off  aback,  if  not  closely  conned.  I  mention 
this  because  the  ability  of  a  ship  to  hold  her  luff,  if 
necessary,  right  up  into  the  teeth  of  the  wind,  and  even 
after  that  to  hold  steering  way  enough  to  wear  or  tack 
as  occasion  may  require,  is  frequently  of  supreme  im 
portance  in  battle,  and,,  all  other  things  being  equal,  has 
decided  the  fate  of  many  ship-to-ship  combats  at  sea." 

The  re-christened  Bonhomme  Richard  was  152 
feet  over  all,  with  a  tonnage  of  998  tons  (French).  She 
carried,  when  turned  over  to  Paul  Jones,  fourteen 
long  twelve-pounders,  and  fourteen  long  nines,  and 
twelve  six-pounders.  "  Her  main  or  gun  deck  was 
roomy,  and  of  good  height  under  beams.  .  .  .  Below 
the  main  deck  aft  was  a  large  steerage,  or,  as  it  would 
be  called  in  a  man-of-war,  a  'gun-room,'  extending 
some  distance  forward  of  the  step  of  the  mizzen-mast. 
This  deck  had  been  used  for  passengers  when  the 
ship  was  an  Indiaman ;  but  as  the  port  sills  of  it  were 


PAUL   JONES  213 

a  good  four  feet  above  water  when  the  ship  was  at 
her  deep  trim,  I  determined  to  make  a  partial  lower 
gun-deck  of  it  by  cutting  six  ports  on  a  side  and 
mounting  in  them  twelve  eighteen-pounders.  But, 
being  able  to  obtain  only  eight  eighteens,  I  cut  only 
four  ports  on  a  side,  and  in  fact  put  to  sea  with  only 
six  eighteen-pounders,  two  of  the  eight  being  unfit 
for  service  when  turned  over  to  me." 

He  goes  into  a  wealth  of  technical  detail  as  to  his 
changes  in  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  but  sums  up  that : 
"  This  made  her,  with  the  eighteen-pounders,  a  fair 
equivalent  of  a  thirty-six-gun  frigate ;  or  without  them, 
the  equal  of  the  thirty-two  as  usually  rated  in  the 
regular  rate-list  of  the  English  and  French  navies." 
A  crew  of  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  all  told 
was  enlisted.    The  Americans,  including  officers,  only 
counted    fifty.     A   "  hundred   and   ninety   odd   were 
aliens,  partly  enlisted  from  British  prisoners  of  war, 
partly  Portuguese,  a  few  French  sailors  or  fishermen, 
and  some  Lascars.     In  addition  to  these  two  hundred 
and  forty  seamen  I  shipped  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  French  soldiers,  who  were  allowed  to  volunteer 
from  the  garrison,  few  or  none  of  whom  had  before 
served  aboard  ship,  and  the  commandant  of  the  dock 
yard  loaned  me  twelve  regular  marines,  whom  I  ma'de 
non-commissioned  officers.    The  regular  marine  guard 
for  a  ship  of  the  Richard's  size  or  rate  would  be  about 
fifty  to  sixty  of  all  ranks.     My  reason  for  shipping 
such  a  large  number  was  that  I  meditated  descents 
on  the  enemy's  coasts,  and  also  that  I  wished  to  be 
sure  of  force  enough  to  keep  my  mixed  and  motley 


214  PAUL   JONES 

crew  of  seamen  in  order."  The  rest  of  the  squadron 
were  the  Alliance,  Pallas  and  Vengeance,  and  a 
coastguard  cutter  called  the  Cerf.  It  was  arranged 
that  Lafayette,  with  seven  hundred  men,  was  to  join 
the  expediton.  He  writes  enthusiastically  to  Paul 
Jones  "  that  we  must  not,  if  possible,  put  troops  on 
board  of  her  (the  Alliance),  because  there  would  be 
disputes  between  the  land  officers  and  Capt.  Landais. 
Don't  you  think,  my  dear  sir,  that  we  might  have 
them  divided  in  this  way— 

On  board  the  Bonhomme  Richard  (50  Dragoons  and   150 

soldiers)         .........     200 

On  board  the  Monsieur         .......     300 

On  board  the  Pallas,  the  artillery  and  .         .         .         .150 

"  If  you  don't  like  it,  you  might  have  150  men  on 
board  of  the  Alliance,  but  I  fear  disputes.  M.  de 
Chaumont  will  make  the  little  arrangements  for  the 
table  of  the  officers,  etc." 

Lafayette  was  admittedly  a  poseur,  and  his  con 
cluding  paragraph,  quoted  below,  is  an  example  of 
the  strange  composition  of  this  man's  nature;  who 
could  lay  such  stress  on  trivial  details,  and  uncon 
cernedly  impoverish  himself  and  his  family  with  a 
quixotism  unsurpassed  by  the  Knight  of  la  Mancha 
himself. 

'  Though  the  command  is  not  equal  to  my  military 
rank,  the  love  of  the  public  cause  made  me  very  happy 
to  take  it;  and  as  this  motive  is  the  only  one  which 
conducts  all  my  private  and  public  actions,  I  am  sure 
I'll  find  in  you  the  same  zeal,  and  we  shall  do  as 
much  and  more  than  any  others  would  perform  in  the 
same  situation.  Be  certain,  my  dear  Sir,  that  I'll  be 


PAUL   JONES  215 

happy  to  divide  with  you  whatever  share  of  glory  may 
await  us,  and  that  my  esteem  and  affection  for  you 
is  truly  felt,  and  will  last  for  ever." 

But  Lafayette's  family  had  no  wish  to  see  him  go 
to  sea  in  company  with  so  determined  a  fighter  as 
his  Scotch  friend,  and  he  wrote  on  May  22nd,  1779, 
"  I  dare  say  you  will  be  sorry  to  hear  that  the  King's 
dispositions  concerning  our  plans  have  been  quite 
altered,  and  that  instead  of  meeting  you  I  am  now 
going  to  take  command  of  the  King's  regiment  at 
Saintes."  The  Court  was  at  this  moment  planning  one 
of  those  colossal  spectacular  invasions  of  England, 
which,  though  they  never  matured,  proved  a  favourite 
and  more  than  semi-occasional  project,  causing  less 
harm  to  the  island  neighbours  than  the  modest  at 
tempts  of  Paul  Jones  and  his  forays  on  the  Scotch 
coast. 

The  squadron  of  which  Jones  supposed  he  was 
to  have  chief  command  comprised  the  Bonhomme 
Richard,  the  Alliance,  the  Pallas,  the  Vengeance  brig, 
and  the  Cerf,  a  fine  cutter.  Jones  had,  with  his  usual 
daring,  planned  nothing  less  than  an  attack  on  Liver 
pool.  "A  plan,"  he  says,  "was  laid,  which  promised 
perfect  success,  and,  had  it  succeeded,  would  have 
astonished  the  world."  No  less  than  five  hundred 
picked  men  from  the  famous  Irish  brigade,  under 
command  of  Mr.  Fitzmaurice,  were  to  have  taken  part 
in  the  attempt.  But,  unfortunately,  "a  person  (de 
Chaumont)  was  appointed  commissary,  and  unwisely 
intrusted  with  the  secret  of  the  expedition.  The  com 
missary  took  upon  himself  the  whole  direction  at 
1'Orient;  but  the  secret  was  too  big  for  him  to  keep. 


216  PAUL   JONES 

All  Paris  rang  with  the  expedition  from  1'Orient;  and 
government  was  obliged  to  drop  the  plan  when  the 
squadron  lay  ready  for  sea,  and  the  troops  ready  to 
embark." 

"  In  an  evil  hour  he  solicited  that  the  Alliance,  a 
new  American  frigate,  of  which  the  command  had 
been  given  by  Congress  to  one  Landais,  a  French 
man,  should  be  added  to  his  force.  As  Dr.  Franklin 
had  just  been  formally  appointed  ambassador  to  the 
Court  of  France,  Jones  imagined  that  not  only  the 
disposal  of  the  frigate,  but  the  power  of  displacing 
its  commander  at  pleasure,  was  vested  in  him,  as 
guardian  of  American  interests  in  Europe." 

This,  presumably,  could  not  be  done,  and  he  had 
the  vexation  of  seeing  the  fastest  sailing  ship  in  his 
squadron  commanded  by  a  man  whose  enmity  towards 
him  was  constant  and  undying.  Pierre  Landais,  a 
disgraced  officer  in  the  French  service,  cashiered  for 
insubordination  and  refusal  to  pay  debts  of  honour; 
disowned  by  his  family  and  without  career,  had  been 
glad  to  engage  as  captain  of  one  of  the  ships  sent  by 
Beaumarchais  to  America  with  supplies  for  Washing 
ton's  army.  He  was  a  plausible  scoundrel,  and  once 
in  America,  represented  himself  as  a  French  naval 
officer  on  leave  for  the  purpose  of  giving  his  services 
to  the  new  navy,  and  the  Congress,  without  looking  into 
the  matter,  and  thinking  to  please  their  French  allies, 
precipitately  gave  him  command  of  the  best  ship  they 
had,  and  fate  decreed  that  he  should  be  a  perpetual 
thorn  in  Paul  Jones's  flesh. 

On  June  loth,  1779,  "M.  de  Chaumont  presents  his 


PAUL   JONES  217 

compliments  to  Mr.  Jones,  and  informs  him  that 
everything  is  on  board  except  the  powder,  which  will 
require  only  two  hours,  when  he  may  set  sail  with  a 
favourable  wind. 

"M.  de  Chaumont  informs,  at  the  same  time,  Mr. 
Jones  that  he  will  have  papers  to  sign  before  his 
departure,  for  the  sundry  articles  which  the  King  has 
furnished  the  ship;  therefore  M.  de  Chaumont 
earnestly  entreats  Mr.  Jones  not  to  neglect  it,  con 
sidering  the  immense  expense  which  the  vessels  in 
the  port  have  occasioned  to  the  King."  Jones  is 
reminded  that  "  M.  de  Sartine  has  left  to  him  and  to 
M.  Landais  the  choice  of  two  excellent  American 
pilots,  and  his  attention  is  called  to  the  situation  of 
the  (French)  officers  who  have  accepted  commissions 
from  Congress  to  join  the  armament  of  the  Bon- 
homme  Richard  which  you  command,  may  be  in 
contradiction  with  the  interests  of  their  own  ships; 
this  induces  me  to  request  you  to  enter  into  an  engage 
ment  with  me  that  you  shall  not  require  from  the  said 
vessels  any  services  but  such  as  will  be  conformable 
with  the  orders  which  those  officers  shall  have,  and 
that  in  no  case  shall  you  require  any  change  to  be 
made  in  the  formation  of  their  crews,  which,  as  well 
as  the  vessels  themselves  and  their  armament,  shall 
be  entirely  at  the  disposition  of  the  commandants  of 
the  said  vessel."  This  stipulation  was  one  of  the 
first  straws  to  show  which  way  the  wind  blew,  and 
the  precursor  of  that  unheard-of  "  Concordat "  which 
Jones  was  obliged  to  sign  before  putting  to  sea  with 
his  squadron  the  second  time. 


218  PAUL   JONES 

Paul's  few  leisure  moments  were  filled  listening  to 
the  miscellaneous  advice  with  which  every  one 
gratuitously  inundated  him,  and  which  varied  in  text 
from  de  Chaumont's  lamentations  over  the  King's 
outlay,  to  Dr.  Franklin's  perpetual  reiterations  that 
Jones  should  play  the  game  of  war  in  a  genteel  and 
harmless  fashion  where  the  enemy  was  concerned, 
sparing  everything  and  everybody  sparable,  and  treat 
his  prisoners  "with  kindness  and  consideration." 

If  Franklin  really  objected  to  war  and  its  inevitable 
boisterousness,  why  did  he  abandon  all  his  occupa 
tions,  go  to  France,  and  work  indefatigably  to  get 
French  help  for  the  Americans,  when  he  knew  that 
such  help  would  embroil  several  unoffending  nations 
into  the  war  he  so  deplored?  Dr.  Franklin  is  not 
consistent,  and  belongs  to  that  great  army  of  tempor- 
isers  of  which  the  American  revolution  is  so  full ; 
who  made  little  effort  to  back  up  their  representatives, 
and  classed  this  non-support  under  the  heading  of 
"  diplomatic  relations."  The  philosophical  doctor  was 
not  wholly  lacking  an  eye  to  the  main  chance,  and 
there  is  a  suggestiveness  in  the  postscript  of  one  of 
these  letters—  "  N.B. — If  it  should  fall  in  your  way, 
remember  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  ships  are  very 
valuable.  B.  F" 

As  the  attack  on  Liverpool  ha'd  been  abandoned, 
thanks  to  that  "tattling  commissary,"  as  Jones  aptly 
calls  de  Chaumont,  and  there  were,  for  the  moment, 
no  definite  plans  for  a  cruise,  the  squadron  put  to  sea 
"  with  a  convoy  of  merchant  ships  and  transports  with 
troops,  etc.,  bound  to  the  different  ports  and  garrisons 
between  this  place  and  Bordeaux." 


PAUL   JONES  219 

The  American  squadron  consisted  of  the  Bon- 
homme  Richard,  42  guns,  Alliance,  36  guns,  Pallas  30 
guns,  Cerf,  18  guns,  and  the  Vengeance,  12  guns,  and 
sailed  from  1'Orient  on  June  igth,  1779. 

On  June  14,  1779,  Le  Ray  de  Chaumont  produced 
a  paper  called  a  "Concordat"  for  the  five  captains 
to  sign.  No  historian  has  been  able  to  assign  suitable 
reasons  for  such  a  proceeding,  which  forced  the  com 
mander,  by  his  own  signature,  to  deprive  himself  of 
all  benefits  of  superior  rank,  and  agree  to  do  nothing 
without  consulting  the  other  captains,  who,  instead  of 
being  subordinate  officers  under  his  command,  became 
"  colleagues,"  on  a  practical  equality  with  their  com 
mander,  the  effect  of  which  "was  to  destroy  all 
discipline  in  the  squadron." 

Commodore  Jones  was  furious,  and  demanded  of 
Chaumont,  "  What  could  have  inspired  you  with  such 
sentiments  of  distrust  towards  me,  after  the  ocular 
proofs  of  hospitality  which  I  so  long  experienced  in 
your  house,  and  after  the  warm  expressions  of  gener 
ous  and  unbounded  friendship  which  I  had  so  con 
stantly  been  honoured  with  in  your  letters,  exceeds 
my  mental  faculties  to  comprehend.  ...  I  cannot  think 
you  are  personally  my  enemy.  I  rather  imagine  that 
your  conduct  towards  me  at  POrient  has  arisen  from 
the  base  misrepresentation  of  some  secret  villainy." 

To  Mr.  Hewes  he  freely  expresses  his  feelings 
about  the  "  most  amazing  document  that  the  putative 
commander  of  a  naval  force  in  time  of  war  was  ever 
forced  to  sign  on  the  eve  of  weighing  anchor." 

"  I  am  tolerably  familiar  with  the  history  of  naval 
operations  from  the  remotest  time  of  classical 


220  PAUL   JONES 

antiquity  to  the  present  day;  but  I  have  not  heard  or 
read  of  anything  like  this.  I  am  sure  that  when 
Themistocles  took  command  of  the  Grecian  fleet, 
he  was  not  compelled  to  sign  such  a  'Concordat'; 
nor  can  I  find  anything  to  exhibit  that  Lord  Hawke 
in  the  French  war,  nor  any  English  or  French  flag 
officer  in  this  war  had  been  subjected  to  such  volun 
tary  renouncement  of  proper  authority. 

1  These  being  the  two  extremes  of  ancient  and  of 
modern  naval  history  without  a  precedent,  I  think  I 
am  entitled  to  consider  myself  the  subject  of  a  com 
plete  innovation;  or,  in  other  words,  the  victim  of  an 
entirely  novel  plan  of  naval  regulations. 

"...  It  is  my  custom  to  live  up  to  the  terms  of 
papers  that  I  sign.  I  am  at  this  writing  unable  to  see 
that,  by  signing  this  paper,  I  have  done  less  than 
surrender  all  military  right  of  seniority,  or  that  I  have 
any  real  right  to  consider  my  flagship  anything  more 
than  a  convenient  rendezvous  where  the  captains  of 
the  other  ships  may  assemble  whenever  it  please  them 
to  do  so,  for  the  purpose  of  talking  things  over,  and 
agreeing — if  they  can  agree — upon  a  course  of  sailing 
or  a  plan  of  operations  from  time  to  time. 

'  Yet,  strange  and  absurd  as  all  this  may  appear,  I 
was  constrained  to  sign  this  infernal  paper  by  a  word 
from  Dr.  Franklin,  which,  though  veiled  under  the 
guise  of  '  advice/  came  to  me  with  all  the  force  of 
an  order. 

'  You  know  that  not  only  is  the  word  of  Dr. 
Franklin  law  to  me,  but  also  his  expression  or  even 
intimation  of  a  wish  is  received  by  me  as  a  command 


PAUL   JONES  221 

to  be  obeyed  instantly  without  inquiry  or  debate  .  .  . 
the  doctor  himself  knows  this. 

"  I  am  so  sure  that  the  doctor  always  does  the  best 
he  can,  that  I  never  annoy  him  with  inquiries.  I  can 
at  least  see  my  way  clear  to  some  sort  of  a  cruise. 
I  hope  to  realise  in  it  some  of  my  ambition  towards 
promoting  the  reputation  of  the  United  States  on  the 


sea." 


Jones  then  alludes  to  the  moral  effect  which  the 
capture  of  the  Drake  had  "  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
and  alarmed  the  English  more  than  they  have  been 
alarmed  in  many  years,  if  ever.  It  taught  the  English, 
and  proved  to  the  rest  of  the  world,  that  a  regular 
British  man-of-war,  fully  manned,  well  handled  and 
ably  commanded,  could  be  reduced  in  one  hour,  by  a 
slightly  inferior  ship,  to  total  wreck  and  helplessness, 
and  forced  to  surrender  in  order  to  save  the  lives  of 
the  remnant  of  her  crew  in  sight  of  their  own  coast; 
and  all  this,  not  by  desperate  boarding,  but  by  simple 
straightway  broadsiding  at  close  range,  the  whole 
battle  being  fought  on  one  tack  and  without  manoeuvre. 

"  But  now,  with  the  force  I  have,  ill-assorted  as  it 
is,  and  hampered  as  it  may  be  by  the  untoward 
conditions  I  have  already  confided  to  you,  I  can,  if 
fortune  favours  me,  fight  a  much  more  impressive 
battle. 

"  I  might  have  a  better  ship,  and  my  crew  would 
be  better  if  they  were  all  Americans.  But  I  am  truly 
grateful  for  ship  and  crew  as  they  are ;  and,  if  I  should 
fail  and  fall,  I  wish  this  writing  to  witness  that  I  take 
all  the  blame  upon  myself." 


222  PAUL/  JONES 

Hewes  was  a  dying  man  when  he  received  this 
letter,  which  was  found  among  his  papers,  endorsed  ' 
"  It  is  to  be  seen  that  he  considers  himself  now  at 
the  end  of  his  resources,  and  that  he  must  do  or  die 
with  the  weapons  in  his  hands.  I  only  hope  that  life 
may  be  spared  me  long  enough  to  know  the  ending.  I 
am  sure,  from  what  he  says  at  the  end  of  his  letter, 
that  he  will  either  gain  a  memorable  success,  or,  if 
overmatched,  go  down  with  his  flag  flying  and  his  guns 
firing.  To  me,  who  know  him  better  than  any  one  else 
does,  his  words,  '  if  I  should  fail  and  fall '  mean  that 
he  intends  both  shall  be  if  one  is;  that,  if  he  must  fail, 
he  is  resolved  to  fall ;  that  he  will  not  survive  defeat. 
Knowing  him  as  I  do,  the  desperate  resolution  fore 
shadowed  in  his  words  fills  me  in  my  present  weak 
state  with  the  gloomiest  feelings."  Life  was  not 
spared  this  staunch  friend,  who  died  ere  news  of 
the  fight  between  the  Serapis  and  the  Bonhomme 
Richard  had  crossed  the  wide  expanse  of  ocean. 

Franklin  had  sent  Commodore  Jones  secret  orders 
as  to  the  plans  to  be  observed  on  the  cruise ;  and  Jones 
complains,  with  much  reason,  of  having  seen  a  letter 
from  the  "tattling  commissary"  to  a  junior  officer 
under  his  command,  in  which  the  "secret  orders" 
were  freely  discussed  !  What  could  a  commander  do 
when  his  fleet,  to  the  cabin  boys,  knew  his  private 
affairs  a  little  better  than  he  himself  did? 

In  John  Kilby's  narrative  is  the  funnily  worded 
item  :  '  The  first  thing  that  happened  as  we  were 
beating  down  to  the  Island  of  Groix  :  a  man  fell  off 
the  main-topsail  yard  on  the  quarter-deck.  As  he 


PAUL   JONES  223 

fell  he  struck  the  cock  of  Jones's  hat,  but  did  no 
injury  to  Jones.  He  was  killed,  and  buried  on  the 
Island  of  Groix  " — which  gives  a  certain  vague  and 
delightfully  piratical  tinge  to  the  commencement  of 
the  cruise ! 

The  squadron  having  sailed  on  June  igth,  the 
evening  of  the  following  day  the  Commander  had  "  the 
satisfaction  to  see  the  latter  part  of  the  convoy  safe 
within  the  entrance  of  the  river  of  Bordeaux.  But 
at  midnight,  while  lying-to  off  the  Isle  of  Yew,  the 
Bonhomme  Richard  and  Alliance  got  foul  of  one 
another,  and  carried  away  the  head  and  cutwater,  sprit- 
sail  yard  and  jibboom  of  the  former,  with  the  mizzen- 
mast  of  the  latter;  fortunately,  however,  neither  ship 
received  damage  in  the  hull." 

Captain  Landais's  conduct  during  this  accident  left 
much  to  be  desired,  and  it  was  solemnly  attested  by 
the  officers  of  the  squadron  that,  instead  of  giving  the 
requisite  orders  to  prevent  the  collision,  and  after 
wards  remaining  on  deck  to  assist  in  the  extrication 
of  the  Alliance,  he  went  below  to  load  his  pistols. 
'  The  base  desertion  of  his  station  when  the  fate  of 
his  ship  was  at  hazard  showed  a  shrinking  from  duty 
and  responsibility,  and  a  want  of  presence  of  mind; 
whilst  the  search  for  his  pistols,  real  or  affected,  to 
be  used  against  his  commanding  officer,  evinced  a 
braggart  disposition  to  shed  blood  which  was  doubt 
less  assumed  to  cover  the  timidity  with  which  the 
jeopardy  of  his  ship  had  affected  him.  This  anecdote 
will  be  found  very  characteristic  of  the  man  in  after 
scenes  of  much  greater  peril." 


224  PAUL    JONES 

The  squadron  reeked  with  insubordination,  and 
Landais  was  so  hated  that  he  and  his  officers  "were 
ready  to  cut  one  another's  throats;  the  crew  had 
mutinied  on  the  voyage  from  America,  with  Lafayette 
on  board,  and  once  in  port  the  first  and  second  lieu 
tenants  deserted.  There  hap!  been  trouble  on  the 
Bonhomme  Richard  among  the  English  prisoners 
who  enlisted  with  Jones  as  Americans,  in  order  to 
escape  from  their  loathsome  prisons,  and  with  the 
ultimate  hope  of  getting  home  once  more.  "Two 
quarter-masters  were  implicated  as  ringleaders  in  a 
conspiracy  to  take  the  ship.  It  was  necessary  to  hold 
a  court-martial  for  the  trial  of  these  offenders;  and 
a  knowledge  of  the  circumstances  thus  reaching  M.  de 
Sartine  created  a  distrust  with  regard  to  the  efficiency 
of  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  which  gave  Jones  great 
annoyance.  The  result  of  the  court-martial  was,  that 
the  quarter-masters  were  severely  whipped  instead 
of  being  condemned  to  death,  as  Jones,  from  a 
letter  written  about  this  period,  seemed  to  have 
apprehended." 

The  return  of  the  squadron  to  Brest  for  repairs  was, 
in  the  end,  a  great  benefit  to  the  Commander,  enabling 
him  to  enlist  those  American  seamen  just  exchanged 
by  Lord  North's  orders  for  the  prisoners  kept  by 
Jones  on  the  Patience  in  Brest  harbour.  Undoubtedly 
this  new  addition  to  the  Richard's  fighting  force  aided 
Jones  to  make  one  of  the  most  brilliant  victories  in 
the  annals  of  naval  warfare;  without  them,  and  left 
to  the  hazards  of  his  mongrel  crew,  he  might  have 
chosen  to  sink  with  his  ship,  rather  than  "fail  and 


PAUL   JONES  225 

fall."  They  were  the  best  to  be  found,  these  sturdy 
Yankee  tars,  such  as  "  Good  old  Fighting  Dick  Dale," 
to  whom  he  left  the  sword  of  honour  given  him  by 
King  Louis;  Nathaniel  Fanning,  who  wrote  a  vivid 
description  of  the  battle;  Henry  Lunt  and  John 
Mayrant,  whom  the  Captain  eulogises  in  his  journal : 
"  It  was  my  fortune  to  command  many  brave  men, 
but  I  never  knew  a  man  so  exactly  after  my  own  heart 
or  so  near  the  kind  of  man  I  would  create,  if  I  could, 
as  John  Mayrant."  These  and  a  score  of  others 
formed  the  righting  backbone  of  the  crew;  fearless, 
daring,  bold  sailors,  who  were  afraid  of  nothing 
human,  satanic,  or  divine. 

For  some  reason  the  name  Bonhomme  Richard 
seemed  to  please  the  fancy  of  the  men.  Jones,  too, 
had  a  very  persuasive  way,  and  would  walk  for  an 
hour  or  more  on  the  pier  with  a  single  sailor  whom  he 
was  desirous  of  enlisting,  and  rarely  failed  of  success. 
Placing  scanty  reliance  on  the  untried  French,  Portu 
guese  and  Lascars,  who,  with  the  released  English 
prisoners,  formed  a  large  proportion  of  his  crew,  he 
drafted  them  on  to  other  ships  of  the  squadron, 
manning  the  Bonhomme  Richard  with  a  hundred 
and  fifty  American  sailors  and  officers,  who,  in  case 
of  trouble,  would  be  in  sufficient  proportion  to 
dominate  the  ship. 

There  has  been  such  strong  testimony  recorded 
about  Jones's  dislike  to  the  use  of  the  cat-o'-nine-tails 
that  the  story  told  by  John  Kilby,  one  of  the  released 
prisoners  enlisted,  is  not  without  interest.  It  must 
be  kept  in  mind  that  the  narrative  was  written  from 


226  PAUL   JONES 

memory  some  thirty  years  after  the  events  happened, 
and  memory  is  not  always  infallible.  All  through  the 
story  John  Kilby's  remembrance  of  the  names  of  those 
who  were  his  daily  associates  is  so  erroneous  that  it 
is  not  easy  to  believe  him  reliable  on  other  events 
He  says — 

"  We  all  went  on  board  of  the  ship  Bonhomme 
Richard.     The  first  sight  that  was  presented  to  our 
view  was  thirteen  men  stripped  and  tied  up  on  the 
larboard  side  of  the  quarter-deck.     The  boatswain's 
mate  commenced  at  the  one  nearest  the  gangway  and 
gave  him  one  dozen  lashes  with  the  cat-o'-nine-tails. 
Thus  he  went  on   until  he   came   to   the   coxswain, 
Robertson  by  name.     (These  men  were  the  crew  of 
the  captain's  barge,  and  Robertson  was  the  coxswain.) 
When  the  boatswain's  mate  came  to  Robertson,  the 
first  lieutenant  said  :  '  As  he's  a  bit  of  an  officer,  give 
him  two  dozen.'     It  was  done.     Now  it  is  necessary 
to  let  you  know  what  they  had  been  guilty  of.     They 
had  carried  the  Captain  on  shore,  and  as  soon  as  Jones 
was  out  of  sight,  they  all  left  the  barge  and  got  drunk. 
When  Jones  came  down  in  order  to  go  on  board,  not 
a  man  was  to  be  found.    Jones  had  to,  and  did,  hire 
a  fishing  boat  to  carry  him  on  board.     Here  it  will 
be  proper  to  observe  that,  some  small  time  before, 
Jones  had   entered  seventy-two  men   (English  pris 
oners)  who   had   been  released   from   the   prison   of 
Denan  (Dinan  ?)  in  the  inland  part  of  France.    Nearly 
all  of  them  were  good  seamen,  and  the  crew  of  the 
captain's  barge  was  selected  from  their  number." 
These  released  prisoners,  whom  Jones  enlisted  and 


PAUL   JONES  227 

brought  from  TOrient,  paying  their  travelling  expenses 
out  of  his  own  pocket,  were  mostly  "  rated  as  warrant 
or  petty  officers  upon  the  reorganisation  of  the 
Richard? s  crew." 

While  the  squadron  lay  inactive  for  six  weeks  at 
the  Isle  of  Groix,  Franklin,  who  had  not  learned  of 
the  accident  to  the  Richard  and  Alliance,  sent  Jones 
a  letter  with  directions  for  the  cruise.  The  doctor 
directed  that  the  fleet  should  cruise  on  the  west  coast 
of  Ireland,  "  establish  your  cruise  on  the  Orcades,  the 
Cape  of  Derneus,  and  the  Dogger  Bank,  in  order  to 
take  the  enemy's  property  in  those  seas. 

"  The  prizes  you  make,  send  to  Dunkirk,  Ostend, 
or  Bergen  in  Norway,  according  to  your  proximity  to 
either  of  these  ports."  The  cruise  was  to  end  at 
the  Texel.  This  letter  was  crossed  by  that  of  Jones, 
informing  the  doctor  of  the  accident  to  the  Richard. 
The  Commodore  had  many  complaints  for  the  ear  of 
his  friend,  but  Franklin  tries  to  pacify  him  with  the 
suggestion,  that  as  the  cruise  was  to  end  at  the  Texel, 
he  might  at  last  accomplish  his  great  desire,  and  get 
command  of  the  Indien. 

Shortly  before  sailing,  the  squadron  had  been  joined 
by  two  privateers,  the  Monsieur  of  forty  guns  and 
the  Grandvillc  of  fourteen.  They  offered  to  bind 
themselves  "  to  remain  attached  to  the  squadron ;  but 
this  the  '  disinterested  commissary T  would  not  permit. 
1  he  consequences  were  soon  obvious ;  the  privateers 
remained  attached  to  the  squadron  exactly  as  long  as 
it  suited  themselves." 

The  Monsieur  is  said  to  have  been  owned  by  Marie 

P  2 


228  PAUL   JONES 

Antoinette's  ladies  of  honour,  the  chief  share  belong 
ing  to  the  Duchesse  de  Chartres ;  and  was  commanded 
by  a  captain  in  the  navy,  Philippe  Guedloe  de 
Roberdeau,  who  warned  Jones  that  Landais  would 
betray  him  at  the  first  opportunity.  His  hatred  for 
Landais  is  given  as  Roberdeau's  reason  for  after 
wards  leaving  the  squadron;  and  in  1780  he  refused 
Landais's  challenge  on  the  grounds  that  the  latter 
was  not  entitled  to  the  privileges  of  a  gentleman. 

"  Having  given  the  necessary  orders  and  signals  and 
appointed  various  places  of  rendezvous  for  every 
captain  in  case  of  separation,  Commodore  Jones  sailed 
from  the  road  of  Groix  on  the  I4th  of  August,  exactly 
one  day  short  of  the  time  he  had  been  desired  to  come 
into  the  Texel,  after  ending  his  cruise;  so  uncertain 
and  precarious  are  all  nautical  movements. 

'  This  force  might  have  effected  great  services,  and 
done  infinite  injury  to  the  enemy,  had  there  been 
secrecy  and  due  subordination;  Captain  Jones  saw  his 
danger;  but  his  reputation  being  at  stake,  he  put  all 
to  the  hazard." 

Authorities  agree  that  this  cruise  of  fifteen  days 
left  an  ineradicable  impression  on  naval  history. 
"  Other  cruises  have  been  marked  at  least  by  dis 
cipline,  subordination,  and  zeal  of  commanders  for 
the  common  cause.  This  one,  from  beginning  to  end, 
was  distracted  by  insubordination  that  in  any  regular 
navy  would  have  been  condemned  as  mutiny  and 
punished  by  shooting  on  deck  or  hanging  at  the 
yardarm." 

Four  days  out  the  squadron  on  the  i8th  captured 


PAUL    JONES  229 

the  Verwagting,  a  large  Dutch  ship,  taken  some  clays 
before  by  an  English  privateer.  The  effects  of  the 
"Concordat"  began  to  show,  for  though  Jones, 
the  senior  officer,  was  within  hail,  the  captain  of  the 
Monsieur,  who  had  taken  the  Dutch  ship  an'd  removed 
from  her  what  he  saw  fit,  put  a  prize  crew  on  board, 
ordering  her  into  port.  Jones  countermanded  this 
order,  sending  her  to  1'Orient,  which  so  'displeased  de 
Roberdeau  that  he  'departed  un'der  cover  of  night,  and 
the  squadron  saw  him  no  more.  On  the  23rd  they 
made  Cape  Clear,  ami  the  Pallas  took  the  brigantine 
Mayflower,  with  a  cargo  of  butter,  salt  meats  and 
fish,  bound  from  London  to  Limerick,  sending  her  to 
TOrient ;  and  the  Fortune  of  Bristol  was  captured  and 
sent  to  Nantes. 

On  the  23rd  Jones  had  a  most  annoying  misaclven- 
ture.  Having  sent  his  boats  to  capture  a  brigantine,  it 
was  necessary  to  keep  the  Bonhomme  Richard  from 
drifting  into  a  dangerous  bay  while  awaiting  their 
return ;  and,  as  there  was  not  enough  wind  to  hanHle 
the  ship,  the  barge  was  ordered  ahead  to  tow.  The 
ex-prisoners  who  manned  the  barge  had  been  looking 
for  just  such  an  opportunity.  They  waited  until  dusk, 
cut  the  tow-line,  and,  having  overpowered  the  two 
American  petty  officers,  made  for  the  shore.  They 
were  fired  at  without  effect  from  the  Bonhomme 
Richard,  and  the  master,  Lunt,  on  his  own  responsi 
bility,  lowered  a  boat  and  gave  chase.  Lunt  was 
unable  to  come  up  with  the  fugitives,  and  presently 
both  boats  disappeared  in  the  fog,  and  the  Cerf,  which 
was  sent  to  find  them,  did  not  return  or  make  for  the 


230  PAUL   JONES 

rendezvous  appointed.  This  took  two  of  the  best 
boats  and  twenty-three  men  from  the  Bonhomme 
Richard,  and  signal  guns  were  fired  all  night,  as  the 
fog  did  not  lift. 

The  following  afternoon  Landais  came  aboard, 
proceeding  to  heap  insults  on  his  commanding  officer, 
"  affirming  in  the  most  indelicate  language  "  that  the 
boats  had  been  lost  through  Jones's  "  imprudence  in 
sending  boats  to  take  a  prize  !  "•  It  is  easy,  after  this 
scene,  to  believe  all  the  allegations  made  as  to  the 
unprecedented  and  extraordinary  conditions  with 
which  Paul  Jones  had  to  cope  on  this  cruise. 

There  was  frightful  tension  during  the  scene ;  how, 
with  this  insult  and  provocation,  Paul  ever  controlled 
his  fiery  temper,  can  only  be  explained  by  his  para 
mount  desire  to  carry  through  the  cruise  he  had 
planned,  so  he  put  an  iron-handed  restraint  on  him 
self,  and  grimly  waited.  Landais  sneeringly  ignored 
the  statements  of  Colonels  Chamillard  and  Weibert, 
who  tried  to  drum  into  his  head  the  fact  that  the 
barge  was  towing  the  ship,  and  not  chasing  prizes. 
It  was  his  petty  jealousy  and  revenge  for  not  being 
allowed  to  chase  the  day  before,  "  and  approach  the 
dangerous  shore  .  .  .  where  he  was  an  entire  stranger, 
and  there  was  not  wind  enough  to  govern  a  ship."  He 
announced  himself  to  be  "  the  only  American  in  the 
squadron,  declaring,  from  now  on,  that  he,  holding  a 
commission  as  captain  in  the  United  States  Navy, 
given  him  by  Congress,  was  answerable  to  no  one,  and 
would  act  as  he  saw  fit." 

There  was  no  end  to  Landais's  insolence.    A  few 


PAUL   JONES  231 

days  later  they  lost  a  fine  letter-of-marque  because, 
at  the  critical  moment,  he  ran  up  the  American  flag 
on  the  Alliance,  instead  of  showing  English  colours, 
as  the  Bonhomme  Richard  was  doing.  When  the 
captain  of  the  letter-of-marque  saw  this,  he  instantly 
threw  his  despatches  overboard,  beyond  reach  of  the 
enemy.  Incidents  of  this  kind  happen  frequently, 
as  we  gather  from  the  voluminous  correspondence 
between  Franklin  and  Jones.  Landais  hated  Paul 
Jones  with  the  hatred  of  a  disgraced  and  dishonour 
able  man  for  one  whose  honour  was  untarnished,  who 
had  no  stain  on  his  past,  and  nothing  to  cloud  his 
future ;  and  Landais  knew  that  only  the  exigencies  of 
war  allowed  him  to  be  tolerated,  much  less  treated 
with  friendliness,  by  officers  of  the  service  he  had 
disgraced.  The  hasty  action  taken  by  Congress  had 
placed  all  parties  in  an  exceedingly  awkward  position. 
The  most  important  project  planned  by  Jones  for 
this  cruise  was  the  attack  on  Leith,  from  which  town 
he  hoped  to  levy  some  £200,000.  So  certain  was  he 
of  success,  that  the  papers  of  capitulation  were  drawn 
up  in  due  form  ready  for  the  signature  of  the  provost 
and  his  henchmen,  who  were  to  be  allowed  half-an- 
hour  for  reflection  before  producing  the  ransom.  Leith 
was  unguarded  by  cannon  at  its  port,  and  soldiers 
for  defence  would  have  to  be  brought  from  Edin 
burgh,  a  mile  distant.  Luck  and  the  wind  were 
against  Jones,  for  a  cutter  brought  in  news  of  his 
appearance  on  the  Scotch  coast,  where,  some  thirty 
years  afterwards,  "  the  prodigious  sensation  caused  by 
the  appearance  of  Paul  Jones  in  the  Firth  of  Forth  is 


232  PAUL   JONES 

hardly  forgotten  on  the  coast  of  Fife."  His  arrival 
on  a  Sunday  morning  caused  wild  turmoil  in  the 
hearts  of  the  kirk-going  population  of  the  "  lang  toun 
o'  Kirkaldy  " ;  and  one  dissenting  minister,  Mr.  Shirra, 
who  had  a  peculiar  and  informal  manner  of  intimating 
his  wishes  to  the  Almighty,  abandoned  all  idea  of 
going  to  his  pulpit,  and,  seating  himself  in  an  arm 
chair,  like  Canute  by  the  edge  of  the  sea,  proceeded 
to  invoke  the  aid  of  heaven  in  the  broadest  Scotch. 

"  Now,  deer  Lord,  dinna  ye  think  it  a  shame  for  ye 
to  send  this  vile  piret  to  rob  our  folk  o'  Kirkaldy ;  for 
ye  ken  they're  puir  enew  already,  and  hae  naething  to 
spaire.  The  way  the  ween  blaws,  he'll  be  here  in  a 
jiffie,  and  wha  kens  what  he  may  do?  He's  nae  too 
guid  for  ony  thing.  Meikle's  the  mischief  he  has 
dune  already.  He'll  burn  their  houses,  tak  their  very 
claes,  and  tirl  them  to  the  sark;  and  wae's  me!  wha 
kens  but  the  bluidy  villain  might  tak  their  lives?  The 
puir  weemen  are  maist  frightened  out  o'  thir  wits,  and 
the  bairns  skirling  after  them.  I  canna  thoVt  I  I 
hae  been  lang  a  faithful  servant  to  ye,  Laird ;  but  gin 
ye  dinna  turn  the  ween  about,  and  blaiv  the  scoundrel 
out  of  our  gate,  I'll  na  staur  a  fit,  but  will  just  sit  here 
till  the  tide  comes  and  drouns  me.  Sae  tak  yere  will 

otr 

And,  till  the  day  of  their  deaths,  his  faithful 
parishioners  could  not  have  been  argued  out  of  their 
belief  that  it  was  solely  owing  to  the  efforts  of  the 
Dominie  that  a  severe  gale  came  up  and  forced  the 
ships  to  put  to  sea  for  safety,  as  already  one  of  the 
prizes  had  been  sunk  by  the  severity  of  the  weather, 


PAUL   JONES  283 

and  the  Bonkomme  Richard  had  sprung  a  mast. 
For  years  afterwards,  when  the  old  clergyman  was 
complimented  on  the  efficacy  of  his  prayer,  he 
mo'destly  disclaimed  any  part  in  the  happening, 
always  saying  :  "  I  prayed — but  the  Laird  sent  the 


Excited  crowds  assembled  on  the  heights  above 
Kirkcaldy,  and  on  the  sandy  beach.  At  one  time  the 
Bonhomme  Richard  was  within  a  mile  of  the  shore, 
and  with  glasses  the  renowned  Commander  could  be 
clearly  seen,  and  is  described  as  "being  dressed  in 
the  American  uniform  with  a  Scotch  bonnet  edged 
with  gold — as  of  a  middle  stature,  stern  countenance 
and  swarthy  complexion." 

The  failure  to  attack  Leith  ranked  as  another  of 
his  disappointments.  There  was  incessant  friction 
with  Landais  and  with  Cottineau,  captain  of  the 
Pallas,  who  ransomed  a  prize,  which  no  one  in  the 
squadron  had  authority  to  do,  as  they  were  considered 
the  property  of  the  King  of  France.  After  the  gale 
the  squadron  made  sail  to  the  southward,  captured 
some  prizes,  and  sighted  an  English  fleet,  which  kept 
so  near  shore  in  the  shallow  water  Jones  dared  not 
attack.  He  then  signalled  a  pilot,  who,  believing 
the  Bonhomme  Richard  to  be  an  English  ship, 
brought  the  news  that  a  king's  ship  lay  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Humber,  waiting  to  convoy  a  fleet  of  merchant 
ships  to  the  north.  The  pilot  innocently  gave  Jones 
the  private  signal,  with  which  he  nearly  decoyed  these 
ships  out  of  port.  They  had  started  to  answer  the 
signal,  "when  the  tide  turned,  and  an  unfavourable 


234  PAUL   JONES 

wind  made  them  put  back.  Jones  decided  the  posi 
tion  was  too  dangerous  to  hold  unsupported,  and  the 
Pallas  not  being  in  sight,  steered  to  join  her  off 
Flamborough  Head." 

Jones  had  explained  to  Cottineau,  a  few  days  after 
his  failure  to  attack  Leith,  similar  projects  in  regard 
to  Hull  and  Newcastle;  but  Cottineau  had  no  desire 
to  take  those  wild  chances  in  which  his  intrepid  com 
mander  revelled,  and  dissuaded  Jones  with  every 
argument  he  could  summon.  Afterwards  Jones 
declared  he  would  have  undertaken  it  without  the 
help  of  the  Pallas,  so  sure  was  he  of  his  junior  officers, 
but  for  the  reproach  which  would  have  "  been  cast 
on  his  character  as  a  man  of  prudence  had  the  enter 
prise  miscarried.  It  would  have  been,  'Was  he  not 
forewarned  by  Captain  Cottineau  and  others  ? ' 
Cottineau  croaked  that  two  'days  more  on  the  coast 
would  surely  lead  to  their  capture,  and  told  Colonel 
de  Chamillard  that  "  unless  Jones  left  next  day,  the 
Pallas  and  Vengeance  would  abandon  him."  Thanks 
to  the  thoroughness  with  which  the  "secret"  orders 
had  been  made  common  property,  every  man  Jack  in 
the  squadron  knew  the  day  appointed  for  rendezvous 
at  the  Texel,  and,  seeing  no  opportunity  for  enriching 
themselves,  clamoured  to  put  into  port  again. 

Jones,  on  this  cruise,  may  be  compared  to  a  man 
trying  to  run  with  a  heavy  shot  chained  to  his  leg. 
The  fatal  "  Concordat "  compelled  him  to  act  in 
concert  with  those  whom  he  should  have  dominated. 
He  possessed  in  a  marked  degree  that  clairvoyant 
gift  of  knowing,  to  the  smallest  detail,  the  result  of 


PAUL   JONES  235 

his  plans.  His  perfect  confidence  in  his  abilities  made 
him  as  certain  of  success  as  he  was  of  the  rising  and 
setting  of  the  sun.  He  could  "hitch  his  waggon  to  a 
star  "  without  misgiving ;  but  those  with  whom  he  had 
to  deal  were  unable  to  rise  to  his  heights. 

"  I  sailed,  in  my  time,  with  many  captains;  but  with 
only  one  Paul  Jones,"  his  acting  gunner,  Henry 
Gardner  wrote.  "  He  was  the  captain  of  captains. 
Any  other  commander  I  sailed  with  had  some  kind 
of  method  or  fixed  rule  which  he  exerted  towards  all 
those  under  him  alike.  It  suited  some  and  others  not; 
but  it  was  the  same  rule  all  the  time  and  to  everybody. 
Not  so  Paul  Jones.  He  always  knew  every  officer 
or  man  in  his  crew  as  one  friend  knew  another.  Those 
big  black  eyes  of  his  would  look  through  a  new  man 
at  first  sight,  and,  maybe,  see  something  behind  him." 

"  It  was  the  misfortune  of  Paul  Jones,  in  almost 
every  important  crisis  of  his  life,  to  be  either  clogged 
by  the  timid  counsels  of  those  about  him,  whose 
genius  and  courage  could  not  keep  pace  with  his,  or 
to  be  thwarted  by  the  baser  feelings  of  ignoble  rival- 
ship.  In  no  other  service  than  that  of  America,  still 
struggling  for  a  doubtful  existence  as  an  independent 
state,  and  without  either  power  or  means  to  enforce 
due  obedience  throughout  the  gradations  of  the 
public  service,  could  such  insubordination  as  was 
displayed  by  his  force  have  been  tolerated." 

Paul  was  to  have  his  opportunity,  however,  though 
he  little  dreamed  what  the  morrow  was  to  bring  forth 
when  he  closed  his  tired  eyes  on  the  night  of 
September  22,  1779. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

SEPTEMBER     23,      1/79 

ON  the  afternoon  of  September  23rd,  the  Bonhomme 
Richard  and  Pallas,  when  off  Flamborough  Head, 
sighted  a  fleet  of  some  forty  merchantmen  to  which 
they  gave  chase,  endeavouring  to  prevent  them  from 
reaching  the  harbour.  This  Jones  was  unable  to  do 
owing  to  the  vigilance  of  the  English  frigates  Serapis 
and  Countess  of  Scarborough,  which  convoyed  the 
fleet.  Had  Commodore  Jones  been  able  to  effect  the 
capture  of  this  fleet,  laden  with  Norwegian  pine,  it 
would  have  dealt  the  government  shipbuilding  a  crip 
pling  blow,  as  the  supply  of  English  pine  was  quite 
exhausted. 

The  Commodore  writes  that:  "The  two  ships  of 
war  that  protected  the  fleet  at  the  same  time  steered 
from  the  land  and  made  the  disposition  for  battle. 
In  approaching  the  enemy  I  crowded  every  possible 
sail,  and  made  the  signal  for  the  line  of  battle,  to 
which  the  Alliance  showed  no  attention.  Earnest  as 
I  was  for  the  action,  I  could  not  reach  the  Commo 
dore's  ship  until  seven  in  the  evening,  being  then 
within  pistol  shot  when  he  hailed  the  Bonhomme 
Richard." 

As  the  American  and  English  frigates  bore  down 
on  one  another  the  Pallas  engaged  the  Countess  of 

Scarborough,   while   an   exchange   of   broadsides   be- 

236 


PAUL   JONES  237 

tween  the  Bonhomme  Richard  and  the  Serapis  began 
the  most  celebrated  naval  duel  in  history.  Captain 
Richard  Pearson  commanded  the  Serapis,  and  in  him 
Commodore  Jones  found  an  adversary  worthy  of  his 
steel.  Nor  were  the  gallant  frigates  badly  matched 
in  armament  and  crew  :  the  Serapis  carried  forty-four 
guns,  throwing  a  broadside  of  three  hundred  and 
fifteen  pounds,  compared  with  the  Bonhomme 
Richard's  forty-two  guns  and  broadside  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty-eight  pounds  of  metal.  The  crew 
of  the  former  numbered  317  officers  and  men,  against 
the  American  frigate's  397. 

The  first  lieutenant  of  the  Serapis,  John  Breton 
Wright,  published  an  account  of  the  combat  in 
London,  in  the  year  1781,  which  is  quoted  below. 

"  As  the  stranger  approached,  Captain  Pearson 
showed  some  impatience  at  his  inability  to  make  out 
her  rate.  From  her  height  out  of  water  and  the  size 
of  her  spars  he  thought  she  might  be  a  French  fifty 
of  the  time  of  the  last  war,  but  she  had  not  yet  showed 
a  lower  tier,  and  it  was  too  dusk  to  make  out  clearly 
whether  she  had  her  lower  ports  closed,  or  if  she  had 
any  at  all.  Finally,  after  ordering  a  hail,  which  was 
not  answered,  Captain  Pearson  took  the  night  glasses 
from  his  eyes,  and  said,  '  It  is  probably  Paul  Jones. 
If  so,  there  is  work  ahead  !  ' 

At  this  point  we  cannot  do  better  than  quote  the 
first  lieutenant  of  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  Richard 
Dale,  familiarly  known  as  "  Dick."  "At  about  eight, 
being  within  hail,  the  Serapis  demanded,  '  What  ship 
is  that?'  He  was  answered,  'I  can't  hear  what  you 


238  PAUL   JONES 

say.'  Immediately  after  the  Serapis  hailed  again, 
'What  ship  is  that?  Answer  immediately,  or  I  shall 
be  under  the  necessity  of  firing  into  you.' 

"  At  this  moment  I  received  orders  from  Commo 
dore  Jones  to  commence  the  action  with  a  broadside, 
which  indeed  appeared  to  be  simultaneous  on  board 
both  ships.  Our  position  being  to  windward  of  the 
Serapis  we  passed  ahead  of  her,  and  the  Serapis, 
coming  up  on  our  larboard  quarter,  the  action  com 
menced  abreast  of  each  other.  The  Serapis  soon 
passed  ahead  of  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  and  when 
he  thought  he  had  gained  a  distance  sufficient  to  go 
down  athwart  the  fore  foot  to  rake  us,  found  he  had 
not  enough  distance,  and  that  the  Bonhomme 
Richard  would  be  aboard  him,  put  his  helm  a-lee, 
which  brought  the  two  ships  on  a  line,  and  the  Bon 
homme  Richard,  having  headway,  ran  her  bows  into 
the  stern  of  the  Serapis.  We  had  remained  in  this 
situation  but  a  few  minutes  when  we  were  again  hailed 
by  the  Serapis,  '  Has  your  ship  struck  ? '  to  which  Cap 
tain  Jones  answered,  '  I  have  not  yet  begun  to  fight.' 
As  we  were  unable  to  bring  a  single  gun  to  bear  upon 
the  Serapis,  our  topsails  were  backed,  while  those  of 
the  Serapis  being  filled  the  ships  separated. 

"  As  soon  as  the  ships  could  bring  their  guns  to  bear 
again  after  separating,  the  fire  of  both  was  renewed ; 
the  enemy's  as  heavy  as  before,  but  ours  much  weaker," 
continues  the  first  quarter  gunner  of  the  Richard. 
"  In  fact,  but  little  of  our  starboard  broadside  was  left. 
Of  the  fourteen  twelve-pounders  in  it  at  the  beginning, 
nine  were  either  dismounted  by  their  carriages  and 


PAUL   JONES  239 

tackle  being  smashed  by  the  eighteen-pound  shot  of 
the  enemy's  lower  tier  or  else  so  jammed  through 
wreckage  of  the  port-openings  from  the  same  cause  as 
to  be  unserviceable.  ...  Of  the  hundred  and  forty- 
odd  officers  and  men  stationed  in  the  main  gun-deck 
battery  at  the  beginning,  more  than  half — at  least  over 
eighty — were  killed  or  wounded.  The  whole  deck 
was  slippery  with  blood  and  littered  with  fragments 
of  heads,  bodies,  and  limbs. 

"  It  was  clear  to  every  one  that,  at  this  rate,  the  end 
could  not  be  far  off;  and  besides,  it  was  known  that 
many  of  the  enemy's  eighteen-pound  shot  had  pierced 
our  hull  between  wind  and  water,  and  there  was 
already  at  least  three  or  four  feet  of  water  in  the  hold, 
and  rapidly  gaining.  From  the  gun-deck  itself,  look 
ing  out-port,  we  could  see  that  the  port  sills  were  much 
nearer  the  water's  surface  than  at  the  beginning,  show 
ing  that  the  ship  had  already  sunk  at  least  two  feet 
from  her  natural  trim.  Yet,  despite  this  wreck  and 
carnage,  I  could  not  see  that  any  of  our  remaining 
men  were  disposed  to  flinch,  or  that  the  five  guns  we 
had  left  were  worked  with  any  less  will  than  at  the 
start. 

"Just  at  this  moment  the  Commodore  came  down 
on  the  gun-deck  and  said  to  Mr.  Dale,  who  was  at  the 
moment  near  me— 

"  '  Dick,  his  metal  is  too  heavy  for  us  at  this  busi 
ness.  He  is  hammering  us  all  to  pieces.  We  must 
close  with  him ;  we  must  get  hold  of  him  !  Be  pre 
pared  at  any  moment  to  abandon  this  deck  and  bring 
what  men  you  have  left  on  the  spar-deck,  an'd  give 


240  PAUL   JONES 

them  the  usual  small  arms  for  boarding  when  you 
come  up.'  .  .  . 

"  The  worst  carnage  of  all  was  on  number  two  gun 
of  the  forward  starboard  division.  From  the  first 
broadside  till  the  gun-deck  was  abandoned  nineteen 
different  men  were  on  this  gun,  and  at  the  end  but 
one  of  her  original  crew  remained.  That  was  our  little 
Indian,  Anthony  Jeremiah,  or,  as  his  messmates'  nick 
name  was,  '  Red  Jerry,'  generally  pronounced  by  the 
crew  '  Red  Cherry/  He  was  '  port-fire  '  throughout. 
When  the  gun-deck  was  abandoned  and  we  went 
above  Jerry  joined  Mayrant's  boarding  party  and  was 
among  the  first  over  the  enemy's  hammock  netting  in 
the  final  rush.  .  .  .  He  seemed  to  bear  a  charmed 
life.  .  .  ." 

Every  possible  method  to  gain  an  advantage  known 
to  naval  warfare  was  practised  by  the  ships.  The 
Serapis  was  much  easier  to  handle  than  the  Richard, 
as  the  latter  was  slow  in  answering  her  helm,  and  had 
more  guns  available,  as  the  eighteen  pounders  with 
which  Jones  had  been  so  generously  provided  were 
utterly  useless  after  they  had  fired  eight  shots  in  all, 
two  bursting  at  the  first  charge  and  killing  their  crews. 
Jones  had  not  known  at  the  time  he  took  them  aboard 
that  they  were  all  condemned  as  unsafe  ! 

The  Commodore  had  intended  to  "lay  the  Bon- 
homme  Richard  athwart  the  enemy's  bow;  but  as  that 
operation  required  great  dexterity  in  the  management 
of  both  helm  and  sails,  and  some  of  our  braces  being 
shot  away,  it  did  not  exactly  succeed  to  my  wish. 
The  enemy's  bowsprit,  however,  came  over  the 


PAUL   JONES  241 

Bonhomme  Richard's  poop  by  the  mizzen-mast,  and 
I  made  both  ships  fast  in  that  situation. 

"  While  lashing  the  ships  together  Paul  incidentally 
lost  his  hat  overboard,  and  on  regaining  the  quarter 
deck  found  his  '  aide-of-the-day,'  Midshipman  Lin- 
thwaite,  with  another  which  he  had  fetched  from  the 
cabin.  '  Never  mind  the  hat,  West/  Jones  said  laugh 
ing,  '  put  it  back  in  the  cabin.  I'll  fight  this  out  in  my 
scalp  !  I've  a  mind  to  peel  my  coat  too !  And  if  I 
could  I'd  fight  in  the  buff  like  the  gun-deck  hearties !  ' 

"The  wind  kept  the  two  ships  so  close  that  the 
muzzles  of  the  guns  touched.  The  ship  was  leaking 
fast,  the  battery  of  twelve-pounders  silenced  and 
abandoned,  leaving  only  two  pieces  of  cannon — nine- 
pounders — on  the  quarter-deck  which  were  fit  for  use. 
The  purser,  Mr.  Mease,  who  commanded  the  guns 
on  the  quarter-deck,  was  dangerously  wounded,  and 
Jones  with  difficulty  rallied  a  few  men,  and  shifted 
over  one  of  the  lee-quarter  deck-guns,  so  they  after 
wards  could  turn  three  nine-pounders  on  the  enemy 
being  seconded  only  by  the  fire  from  the  tops.  The 
Commodore  directed  the  fire  of  one  of  the  three  cannon 
against  the  mainmast  of  the  Scrapis,  with  double- 
headed  shot,  while  the  other  two  were  exceedingly 
well  served  with  grape  and  canister  shot,  to  silence 
the  enemy's  musketry  and  clear  her  decks,  which  was 
at  last  effected. 

'  The    plight    of    the    Bonhomme    Richard    was 

critical.    Riddled  with  shot,  leaking  so  that  the  pumps 

could  scarce  keep  pace  with  the  rising  water  in  her 

hold,  flames  breaking  out  in  a  dozen  places  at  once, 

Q 


242  PAULI  JONES 

and  spreading  so  rapidly  that  the  greatest  fears  were 
felt  for  the  safety  of  the  magazine. 

"  Everything  now  depended  on  the  musketry  of  our 
ship ;  of  the  sailors  in  the  fore,  main  and  mizzen  tops 
with  muskets  and  hand  grenades,  and  the  French 
marines  who  were  mostly  stationed  on  the  quarter 
deck,  poop-deck,  and  top  of  the  roundhouse,  and  but 
few  of  them  were  left.  Our  gun-deck  battery  was  all 
silenced  by  this  time,  and  the  few  men  of  these  serving 
in  it  not  killed  or  disabled  had  abandoned  that  deck. 
Most  of  our  twelve-pounders  were  dismounted  or  so 
cluttered  with  wreckage  that  we  could  not  work  them. 
The  eighteen-pounders  of  the  enemy's  lower  tier  were 
driving  in  beams,  knees,  and  planking  of  the  deck 
under  our  feet,  and  his  upper  tier  of  nine-pounders 
were  splintering  everything  overhead,  in  consequence 
of  the  height  of  our  one  gun-deck  being  a  little 
more  than  that  of  his  lower  tier  and  less  than  that  of 
his  upper  tier,  until  our  gun-deck  battery  was  wholly 
out  of  action,  untenable  fore  and  aft,  and  our  only 
cannon  still  serviceable  were  three  of  our  quarter-deck 
nine-pounders,  and  these  were  being  worked  with  a 
will. 

'  The  lower  deck  of  the  Serapis  was,  of  course,  all 
decked  over,  so  our  musketry  could  not  reach  the 
English  on  that  deck.  But  the  upper  tier  of  the 
Serapis  was  uncovered  through  the  waist  of  that  ship, 
which  was  rather  long,  both  her  quarter-deck  and  fore 
castle  being  short. 

'''  In  face  of  these  facts  it  became  the  Commodore's 
tactics  to  give  his  whole  attention  to  clearing  the 
exposed  decks  of  the  enemy.  He  therefore  assumed, 


PAUL   JONES  243 

and  held  for  the  rest  of  the  action,  direct  command 
of  his  French  marines  in  person.  Before  it  was  over 
the  Commodore  had  every  Frenchman,  who  was  not 
killed,  stark  crazy.  At  first  it  was  all  he  could  do  to 
eet  them  to  stand.  Toward  the  last  he  had  trouble 

o 

to  keep  them  from  boarding  the  enemy  before  he  was 
ready.  It  took  them  several  days  to  cool  off !  " 

The  most  dramatic  version  of  this  incident  was 
written  in  a  Memoir e  du  Combat,  by  Jones's  orderly, 
Pierre  Gerard,  and  published  in  1781.  It  is  more  to 
the  point  in  the  original  French,  with  its  untranslat 
able  idioms. 

"  I  have  seen  all  this.  I  have  been  part  of  it. 
Being  orderly  of  the  day  to  the  Commodore  I  could 
not  leave  him.  I  must  see  all  he  did  and  hear  all  he 
said.  I  have  seen  Captain  de  Chamillard  leave  his 
post  of  commandant  of  the  marines.  He  had  suffered 
a  contusion  of  the  knee,  but  I  do  not  know  that  it 
was  enough  to  make  a  brave  man  quit  his  post.  Many 
of  the  crew,  both  French  and  American,  stayed  to  the 
finish  with  much  worse  wounds.  But  it  is  not  for  me 
to  reflect  on  the  behaviour  of  my  superior  officer. 

"When  he  was  gone  Commodore  Jones  sprang 
among  the  shaking  marines  on  the  quarter-deck  like 
a  tiger  among  calves  (s'elanfant  par  mi  des  soldats  de 
marine  s'effrayants,  en  tigrc  par  mi  les  veaux).  They 
responded  instantly  to  him.  In  an  instant  they  were 
filled  with  courage  !  The  bravery  without  end  of  the 
Commodore  perpetrated  every  soul,  and  every  one  who 
saw  his  example  or  heard  his  voice  became  as  much  a 
hero  as  himself ! 

"At   that   moment   the    fate   of    the    combat   was 


244  PAUL   JONES 

decided.  Every  man  whose  wounds  permitted  him 
to  stand  up  pressed  forward  to  the  front  of  danger, 
and  the  Commodore  had  but  to  look  at  a  man  to  make 
him  brave.  Such  was  the  power  of  one  heart  that 
knew  no  fear !  Such  the  influence  of  one  soul  that 
knew  the  meaning  of  no  other  word  than  conquest ! 

;'  When  the  ships  ranged  alongside,  close  aboard, 
the  Commodore  watched  until  he  saw  that  the  fluke 
of  the  enemy's  anchor  would  hook  in  our  mizzen  foot 
shrouds  close  to  the  channels.  They  soon  engaged 
and  before  the  way  could  be  stopped  the  anchor-fluke 
of  the  enemy  had  ripped  through  two  of  the  foot- 
stays  and  strained  heavily  at  the  third.  But  this  one 
did  not  give  way,  and  then  the  Commodore,  calling 
me  to  follow  and  pass  lashings,  leaped  through  the 
quarter-deck  port  into  the  channels  and  quickly  made 
the  fluke  of  the  anchor  fast  to  our  stays,  passing  the 
line  clear  round  the  latter  and  doubling  it  again  over 
the  fluke,  so  that  when  the  ships  tended  they  would  not 
drift  clear. 

"  But  I  could  distinctly  hear,  amid  the  crashing  of 
the  musketry,  the  great  voice  of  the  Commodore, 
cheering  the  French  marines  in  their  own  tongue, 
uttering  such  imprecations  on  the  enemy  as  I  never 
before  or  since  heard  in  French  or  any  other  language, 
exhorting  them  to  take  good  aim,  pointing  out  objects 
for  their  fire,  and  frequently  giving  them  direct  ex 
ample  by  taking  their  loaded  muskets  from  their  hands 
into  his  and  firing  himself.  In  fact,  toward  the  very 
last,  he  had  about  him  a  group  of  half-a-dozen  marines 
who  did  nothing  but  load  their  firelocks  and  hand  them 


PAUL    JONES  245 

to  the  Commodore,  who  fired  them  from  his  own 
shoulder,  standing  on  the  quarter-deck  rail  by  the  main 
topmast  backstay." 

At  this  intense  moment  the  carpenter,  gunner  an'd 
master-at-arms,  deciding  the  Bonkomme  Richard 
was  sinking,  released  the  two  hundred  prisoners  con 
fined  below,  who  swarmed  up  through  the  orlop  hatch, 
adding  to  the  indescribable  confusion.  One  of  them 
managed  to  climb  through  the  ports  on  to  the  Serapis, 
where  he  rushed  to  inform  Captain  Pearson  that  the 
Richard  was  sinking  fast,  and  could  not  hold  out  for 
more  than  a  few  minutes.  One  of  the  petty  officers, 
Arthur  Randall,  had  called  for  quarter,  crying  that 
the  'Bonhomme  Richard  was  sinking,  and  Captain 
Pearson,  not  seeing  the  Richard's  flag,  for  the  halyards 
had  been  shot  away,  hailed  to  know  if  they  yielded? 

In  Jones's  account  he  says  :  "  I  having  answered 
him  in  the  most  determined  negative,  they  resumed 
the  battle  with  double  fury,"  but  Pierre  Gerard  is 
more  colloquial— 

"  En  cc  moment,  eric  le  capitaine  anglais,  '  Avez- 
vous  amene  voltre  pavilion  ?  '  Auquel,  fero  cement  ct 
lachant  un  gros  juron,  a  repondu  le  Commodore  Jones, 
'  Non  !  je  vais  a  I'instant  commence?  le  combat ! ' 

In  the  midst  of  this  tumult  Jones  had  time  to  realise 
the  danger  to  be  apprehended  by  the  release  of  so 
many  prisoners,  and,  furious  at  such  an  unheard-of 
breach  of  discipline,  snapped  his  pistol  in  the  face 
of  the  master,  John  Burband,  "  but  it  missed  fire,  and 
he  then  felled  the  master-at-arms  to  the  deck  by 


246  PAUL   JONES 

striking  him  on  the  head  with  the  pistol.  .  .  ."  The 
Commodore  told  the  prisoners  that  the  Scrapis  was 
sinking,  to  which  one  of  them,  the  master  of  a 
merchant  ship  taken  a  few  days  before,  retorted,  "  It 
is  this  ship  that  sinks  !  "  Jones  ordered  them  to  the 
pumps,  but  this  man  cried  out  to  his  fellow  prisoners, 
"  Let  the  d—  — d  Yankee  pirate  sink  !  "  Upon  which 
Pierre  says,  "  I  presented  my  pistol  at  his  head,  and 
said  to  him  in  English,  '  Obey  the  Commodore  ! '  In 
stead  of  heeding  my  words  he  grasped  at  my  pistol, 
whereupon  I  fired  and  he  fell  to  the  deck  lifeless. 
There  was  no  more  resistance  on  the  part  of  the 
prisoners,  and  Mr.  Dale,  the  first  lieutenant,  without 
difficulty  mustered  them  at  the  pumps." 

Jones  now  called  for  volunteers  for  the  exceedingly 
dangerous  work  of  climbing  into  the  top  and  throw 
ing  hand  grenades  through  the  hatch  of  the  Serapis. 
There  was  no  lack  of  volunteers.  The  men  who  sur 
rounded  the  Commodore  were  thirsting  for  such  a 
daring  action  by  which  they  could  gamble  with  the 
chances  of  life  and  death  and  work  off  the  battle  mad 
ness  which  drove  them  to  frenzy. 

Gardner  describes  what  followed  :  "  In  obedience 
to  this,  I  had  a  couple  of  buckets  of  grenades  whipt 
into  the  top,  and,  with  Midshipman  Fanning  and  two 
seamen — Jerry  Evans  of  Nantucket,  and  Peter  Nolte, 
a  Swede,  brave  as  all  Northmen  are — lay  out  on  the 
yardarm,  Fanning  overboard,  I  next,  with  a  slow 
match,  and  the  two  seamen  carrying  a  bucket  of 
grenades. 

"  Fanning  lay  out  to  the  earrings.     The  hatch  was 


PAUL   JONES  247 

not  entirely  open,  the  cover  only  having  been  slewed 
round,  probably  by  one  of  our  shot  earlier  in  the  action, 
leaving  a  triangular  opening  about  two  feet  at  the 
widest  part.  As  the  ships  were  rocking  slightly  in 
the  swell,  it  took  a  pretty  good  aim  to  throw  a  grenade 
through  so  small  an  opening.  Still,  Fanning  did  it 
at  the  third  trial,  when  a  terrible  explosion  occurred 
in  the  enemy's  lower  tier,  by  which  the  whole  hatch 
was  blown  open  and  so  much  noise,  flame,  and  smoke 
made  that  we  first  thought  it  was  the  magazine." 

In    this    appalling    disaster    on    the   Serapis,    over 
twenty  of  the  crew  were  blown  to  pieces,  numbers 
frightfully  scorched,  and  "  many  stood  with  only  the 
collars  of  their  shirts  upon  their  bodies,"  so  stupend 
ous  had  been  the  concussion.     It  was  caused  by  the 
hand  grenades  falling  among  some  broken  cartridges 
which  the  powder  monkeys  had  left  scattered  along 
the  deck,  as  they  brought  them  up  faster  than  they 
were  needed.    The  crew  of  the  Serapis,  when  prisoners 
on  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  said  later,  that  with  the 
utmost  difficulty  were  the  men  rallied  to  the  guns  again, 
for  this  devastating  explosion  took  all  the  heart  out 
of  them.     Just  at  this  critical  moment  the  Alliance 
appeared,  and  those  on  the  Bonhommie  Richard,  hard 
pressed    as    they    were,    thought    aid    was    at    hand, 
"when,"  Jones  says,  "to  my  utter  astonishment,  he 
discharged   a   broadside    full    into   the   stern    of   the 
Richard. 

'*  We  called  to  him  for  God's  sake  to  forbear  firing 
into  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  yet  they  passed  along 
the  off-side  of  the  ship  and  continued  firino-. 


248  PAUL    JONES 

Every  tongue  cried  that  he  was  firing  into  the  wrong 
ship,  but  nothing  availed ;  he  passed  round,  firing  into 
the  Bonhomme  Richard's  head,  stern  and  broad 
side  and  by  one  of  his  volleys  killing  several  of  my 
best  men,  and  mortally  wounded  a  good  officer  on  the 
forecastle." 

Captain  Landais's  extraordinary  behaviour  has 
never  been  satisfactorily  explained.  The  Bonhomme 
Richard  had  shown  her  signal  of  reconnaissance,  there 
was  no  chance  that  he  had  mistaken  her  for  the 
Serapis,  as  the  latter  was  painted  a  bright  yellow,  and 
the  Bonhomme  Richard  black,  both  being  clearly 
distinguishable  in  the  clear  harvest  moonlight.  It 
can  only  be  ascribed  to  his  jealousy  and  hatred  of 
Jones,  whom  he  had  so  frequently  made  the  object 
of  his  spite. 

Both  ships  were  in  dire  distress.  For  the  third 
time  the  Alliance  raked  the  Richard  with  a  death-deal 
ing  broadside  after  which  she  made  off  and  took  no 
further  part  in  the  action.  Desperate  indeed  was  the 
courage  of  the  man,  who  with  sinking  ship,  with  flames 
raging  and  relentlessly  creeping  nearer  the  magazine 
each  second,  with  the  pumps  useless  against  the  great 
tide  of  water  pouring  into  the  riddled  hull,  with  nearly 
all  his  guns  silenced,  refused  to  listen  to  the  word 
surrender,  though  urged  by  those  of  "whose  courage 
and  good  sense  he  entertained  a  high  opinion."  A 
party  of  men  who  had  lost  years  rotting  in  English 
prisons  waiting  exchange,  strained  like  hounds  at  the 
leash  for  the  word  of  command  to  throw  themselves 
over  the  side  of  the  Serapis:  they  would  never  be 
taken  alive  ! 


PAUL   JONES  249 

Pearson,  brave  as  he  was,  fought  against  an  oppo 
nent  who  would  have  blown  up  his  ship  rather  than 
surrender  :  a  man  whose  last  chance  to  win  renown 
hung  on  this  battle.  For  when  Jones  wrote':  "  If  I 
fail  or  fall,"  he  wrote  with  the  unalterable  intention 
of  falling — if  fortune  failed  him — but  to  fail,  never. 
Surrender  was  a  word  unknown  in  his  vocabulary,  and 
like  a  demon  he  pervaded  the  ship,  flogging  the  weary 
spirits  with  heartening  words,  urging  them  to  hold  out 
for  a  few  moments  and  victory  would  be  theirs. 
Through  lazy,  hanging  smoke,  which  there  was 
not  wind  enough  to  clear  away ;  over  the  blood-stained 
decks,  where  wounded  groaned,  and  the  increasing 
flames  lighted  a  scene  like  Dante's  Inferno;  above 
the  thunder  of  battle  and  the  rattle  of  musketry,  rose 
that  "  great  voice,"  cheering  his  men  to  victory.  He 
raged  everywhere,  like  the  spirit  incarnate  of  battle. 
His  eager  eye  caught  a  swaying  of  the  enemy's  main 
mast,  there  was  an  ominous  crackling;  those  on  board 
the  Seraph  paused  involuntarily — was  this  the  pre 
cursor  of  another  explosion  ?  .  .  .  The  voice  of  Paul 
Jones  roared  out  over  the  din,  "  Now  is  your  time, 
John  !  Go  in  !  " 

With  a  "  hoarse  shout,  '  Remember  Portsea  gaol !, ' 
Mayrant,  his  fierce  Huguenot  blood  boiling,  led  his 
band  of  Yankee  sailors  over  the  hammock-netting  and 
down  into  the  waist  of  the  Sera-pis,  encountering  little 
resistance,  though  he  was  himself  run  through  the 
fleshy  part  of  the  thigh  by  a  pike  in  the  hands  of  an 
English  sailor.  Mayrant  instantly  killed  this  sailor 
with  a  pistol  shot,  which  was  the  last  casuality  of  the 
action." 


250  PAUL   JONES 

At  this  moment  (ten  thirty-five),  after  an  heroic 
resistance  of  two  hours  and  thirty-five  minutes,  Cap 
tain  Pearson  "  found  it  vain  and  impracticable  from 
the  situation  we  were  in  to  stand  out  any  longer  with 
the  least  prospect  of  success.  I  therefore  struck  (our 
mainmast  at  the  same  time  went  by  the  board).  The 
first  lieutenant  and  myself  were  immediately  escorted 
into  the  ship  alongside."  The  Countess  of  Scar 
borough  had  some  time  before  this  surrendered  to  the 
Pallas. 

This  is  the  simple  event,  shorn  of  dramatic  detail. 
According  to  Dick  Dale,  who  was  so  excited  he  never 
noticed  one  of  his  legs  was  pretty  well  shot  to  pieces 
by  a  splinter  from  a  gun,  the  "  flag  of  the  Serapis  was 
struck  by  Captain  Pearson's  own  hand,  as  none  of  his 
people  would  venture  aloft  on  this  duty";  and 
Gardner  says  that  Pearson  "  Seized  the  halyards  of 
the  Serapis  and  struck  the  flag  himself."  There  was, 
however,  so  much  smoke  from  the  fires  raging  on  the 
ships  and  such  confusion  aboard  both  that  the  situa 
tion  was  not  perceived;  and  the  English  gunners  on 
the  Serapis'' 's  lower  gun-deck  kept  up  their  cannonade, 
while  the  French  marines  on  the  Richard's  poop-deck 
and  the  American  sailors  in  the  tops  of  the  latter  con 
tinued  their  musketry,  until  Mayrant,  seeing  Dale 
standing  on  the  Richard's  rail  holding  on  to  the  main- 
topmast  backstay,  called  out  to  him,  "  He  has  struck; 
stop  the  firing.  Come  on  board  and  take  possession." 

Pearson  was  a  gallant  enemy,  and,  if  he  must  sur 
render,  there  was  no  shame  in  yielding  to  the  indomit 
able  Paul  Jones.  Yet  there  is  a  pathos,  a  regret  for 


PAUL   JONES  251 

a  brave  enemy :  "  when  the  first  lieutenant  of  the 
Serapis  now  came  up  from  below,  and  noticing  Dale's 
uniform,  he  asked  Captain  Pearson,  '  Has  the  enemy 
struck,  sir  ? '  '  No,  sir,  I  have  struck/  was  the  laconic 
reply." 

It  was  a  bitter  moment,  and  stirred  the  feelings  of 
the  conqueror  who  described  it.  "  Captain  Pearson 
now  confronted  me,  the  image  of  chagrin  and  despair. 
He  offered  me  his  sword  with  a  slight  bow,  but  was 
silent.  His  first  lieutenant  followe'd  suit.  I  was  sorry 
for  both  of  them,  for  they  had  fought  their  ship  better 
and  braver  than  any  English  ship  was  ever  fought 
before,  and  this  fortune  of  war  came  hard  to  them.  I 
wanted  to  speak,  but  they  were  so  sad  and  dignified 
in  their  silence  I  hardly  knew  what  to  say.  Finally 
I  mustered  courage  and  said,  as  I  took  the  swords 
and  handed  them  to  Midshipman  Potter  at  my  elbow  : 
'  Captain  Pearson,  you  have  fought  heroically.  You 
have  worn  this  sword  to  your  own  credit  and  to  the 
honour  of  your  service.  I  hope  your  sovereign  will 
suitably  reward  you/  He  bowed  again,  but  made  no 
reply;  whereupon  I  requested  him  and  his  lieutenant 
to  accompany  Mr.  Potter  to  my  cabin." 

So  many  writers  have  put  into  Captain  Pearson's 
mouth  the  sentence,  "  Sir,  it  is  with  reluctance  that 
I  hand  this  sword  to  a  man  who  fights  with  a  halter 
around  his  neck,"  that  a  few  words  of  explanation  are 
not  out  of  place.  Captain  Pearson  was  an  officer 
trained  in  the  nice  courtesies  of  his  profession,  and 
such  a  remark  could  only  be  attributed  to  him  by 
writers  totally  ignorant  of  the  etiquette  customary  on 


252  PAUL   JONES 

such  occasions.  His  loss  was  the  fortune  of  war,  and 
he  accepted  it  as  such.  But  the  story  kept  on  grow 
ing,  being  copied  from  the  London  to  American 
papers,  until  Jones,  when  in  New  York  in  1787,  saw  it 
printed  in  the  Courant,  to  whose  editor  he  wrote. 

"  New  York,  September  7,  1 787. 
"  SIR, 

"  I  have  read  in  your  esteemed  journal,  with 
much  regret,  a  statement  copied  from  a  paper  printed 
elsewhere  to  the  effect  that  Captain  Richard  Pearson, 
when  tendering  his  sword  to  me  about  eleven  o'clock 
p.m.,  September  23,  1779,  observed:  'It  is  with 
reluctance  that  I  yield  this  sword  to  a  man  who  fights 
with  a  halter  around  his  neck  !  ' 

"  Permit  me  to  assure  you,  sir,  upon  my  honour,  that 
nothing  of  the  kind  occurred.  It  could  not,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  have  occurred.  The  statement 
ascribes  to  Captain  Pearson  language  most  grossly 
unofficer-like  and  most  painfully  ungentlemanlike  at  a 
moment  and  on  an  occasion  rigorously  demanding  the 
most  delicate  courtesy  of  intercourse. 

:'  Whatever  may  have  been  the  adversity  of  fate  to 
Captain  Pearson  in  the  fortunes  of  war,  he  was  and 
is  an  officer  of  the  first  grade  in  personal  courage  and 
professional  skill,  and  a  gentleman  without  reproach. 
Therefore,  the  relation  I  at  one  time  held  with  him 
makes  it  my  duty  to  defend  his  reputation  as  an  officer 
and  gentleman  when  assailed  in  his  absence. 

1  The  truth  is  this  :  When  Captain  Pearson  tendered 
his  sword  to  me  he  simply  bowed  and  did  not  speak. 
Deeming  it  the  part  of  politeness  to  say  something 


PAUL  JONES 

that  might  assuage  the  bitterness  of  his  feelings,  I 
said  :  '  Sir,  you  have  defended  your  ship  with  credit 
to  yourself  and  honour  to  your  service.  Allow  me, 
sir,  to  express  the  hope  that  your  sovereign  may 
suitably  reward  you.' 

"  When  I  had  said  this  Captain  Pearson  bowed  pro 
foundly,  but  spoke  no  word.  I  then  requested  Mr. 
Thomas  Potter,  of  Baltimore,  one  of  my  midshipmen, 
to  escort  Captain  Pearson  and  one  of  his  lieutenants, 
who  was  with  him,  to  my  cabin.  During  the  whole 
ceremony  Captain  Pearson  was  mute.  He  did  not 
utter  one  word  or  audible  sound. 

"  Now  permit  me,  sir,  to  explain  the  possible  origin 
of  the  story  :  When  Captain  Pearson  was  exchanged 
and  returned  to  England  he  underwent  the  formal 
court-martial  usual  in  such  cases.  I  obtained  a  copy 
of  the  record  of  his  court-martial  as  printed  in  the 
Official  Chronicle.  In  his  statement  to  the  court, 
Captain  Pearson  said  :  '  The  extraordinary  and  un 
heard-of  desperate  stubbornness  of  my  adversary  had 
so  depressed  the  spirits  of  my  people  that,  when  more 
than  two  hundred  had  been  slain  or  disabled  out  of 
three  hundred  and  seventeen  all  told,  I  could  not  urge 
the  remnant  to  further  resistance.5 

"Then  the  judge-advocate  asked  :'  To  what,  Cap 
tain  Pearson,  do  you  attribute  this  extraordinary  and 
unheard-of  desperate  stubbornness  ?  ' 

"  Captain  Pearson's  reply  was  :  '  I  do  not  know, 
sir,  unless  it  was  because  our  government,  in  its  in 
scrutable  wisdom,  had  allowed,  if  it  did  not  cause, 
the  impression  to  be  spread  abroad  that  Captain  Jones 


254  PAUL   JONES 

and  his  crew  would  be  held  pirates,  or,  at  least,  not 
entitled  to  the  usages  of  civilised  war.' 

"  To  that  the  judge-advocate  replied  :  '  In  other 
words,  Captain  Pearson,  you  mean  they  fought  like 
men  fighting  with  ropes  round  their  necks  ? ' 

" '  That  might  be  a  way  to  state  what  I  mean/  said 
Captain  Pearson. 

"  There  was  no  impropriety  in  this  language  when 
and  where  it  was  uttered.  On  the  contrary,  Captain 
Pearson  unquestionably  intended  to  convey,  in  a 
diplomatic  manner,  his  disapproval  of  the  policy  of 
his  government  to  which  he  had  reference.  In  that 
view  it  was  creditable  to  him.  The  record  of  the 
court-martial  soon  found  its  way  into  the  English 
newspapers,  gossip  of  coffee-houses  and  the  like,  and 
ultimately  became  distorted  into  the  absurd  shape  now 
being  considered. 

*  Trusting  you  will  enable  me  to  have  the  satis 
faction  of  seeing  the  above  true  statement  in  the  print 
of  your  esteemed  columns,  and  also  have  the  pleasure 
of  forwarding  a  copy  of  it  to  Captain  Pearson, 
"  I   remain, 

:<  Very  respectfully, 

"  Your  obedient  servant, 

"  PAUL  JONES. 
"  (Commodore  U  .S.  Navy)'' 


CHAPTER   XVIII 
1779 

A  PLACID  harvest  moon  shone  unheeding  on  the 
havoc  of  war,  its  untempered,  ghastly  white  light 
enhancing  the  awful  scene  of  carnage;  on  decks 
drenched  with  valiant  blood,  on  the  threescore  of 
peaceful  dead,  lying  unshriven,  their  brief  span  ended. 
More  than  twice  their  number  lay  as  they  had  fallen, 
writhing  and  groaning,  or  numb  with  the  agony  of 
mortal  wounds,  and  the  cockpit  was  a  horrible  pan 
demonium  of  suffering,  to  which  the  "  good  old 
surgeon,  Lawrence  Brook,"  unassisted  as  he  was,  could 
give  but  scant  attention.  Wreckage  of  every  descrip 
tion  cumbered  the  decks,  confusion  reigned  supreme. 
Those  who  rushed  to  and  fro  at  the  orders  of  their 
captain  stumbled  over  the  bodies  of  their  dead  com 
rades,  over  the  spent  shot,  over  the  weapons  fallen 
from  inert,  lifeless  hands,  and  the  fragments  of  burst 
guns,  slipping  as  they  ran  on  gruesome  fragments  of 
what  had  been  living  men.  It  was  a  scene  of 
"carnage,  wreck  and  ruin,  unimaginable  unless  seen." 

"  Only  a  hundred  or  so  of  her  unwounded  crew 
remained  to  man  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  the  other 
forty  or  thereabouts  were  with  Mayrant  aboard  the 
prize.  The  poor  Richard  was  indeed  a  wreck,  she 
had  sunk  so  that  the  shot-holes  "  'twixt  wind  and 
water"  could  not  be  plugged.  The  starboard  side 


256  MtJL   JONES 

of  the  ship  was  driven  in.  Every  gun  on  the  star 
board  side  was  disabled.  But  for  a  few  frames, 
futtocks  and  stanchions  that  still  remained  intact,  the 
whole  gun-deck  would  have  fallen  through." 

"  Such  was  the  condition  of  the  Richard,  when  sink 
ing  and  on  fire  she  was  still  the  conqueror,  and  could 
by  signal  command  the  ship  that  had  destroyed  her ! 
Nothing  like  this  has  ever  been  known  in  the  annals 
of  naval  warfare." 

The  terrific  battle  had  lasted  nearly  three  hours 
without  pause  in  its  unremitting  fury.  So  dense  was 
the  smoke  hanging  over  the  ship,  that  for  some  minutes 
after  the  Serapis  had  struck,  both  sides  continued 
firing,  and  it  was  not  till  Mayrant  on  the  Serapis 
called  to  Dick  Dale,  that  the  news  spread  over  the 
ship.  Then  came  a  sudden  calm,  the  rattle  of  combat 
stilled  as  if  by  magic,  the  ships  drifted  together  on 
the  moonlit  water,  and  there  was  no  sound  save  the 
groans  of  the  wounded,  or  the  hoarse  commands  of 
the  officers.  The  mingled  emotions  in  the  hearts  of 
commanders  and  crews  can  only  be  imagined  in  their 
complexity. 

The  Richard's  rudder  had  been  shot  away  early 
in  the  action,  and  had  not  Jones,  with  much  foresight, 
had  a  second  one  rigged  by  the  carpenters  before 
leaving  TOrient,  the  ship  would  have  lain  like  a  log 
at  the  mercy  of  wind  and  tide  when  the  lashings 
holding  her  to  the  Serapis  were  severed.  Through 
the  confusion  of  victory  and  defeat,  the  Captain  led 
a  party  to  make  a  complete  survey  of  the  Richard, 
which  took  until  five  o'clock  the  next  day  (September 


PAUL   JONES  257 

24th),  when  the  Richard  was  condemned  as  utterly 
unseaworthy,  and  her  wounded  and  prisoners  ordered 
to  be  transferred  to  the  Serapis  and  other  ships  of 
the  squadron  without  a  moment's  delay,  for,  in  the 
event  of  wind  and  sea  rising,  there  was  no  hope  of 
keeping  the  Richard  afloat. 

Staggering  with  exhaustion,  hardly  seeing  from 
their  dazed,  sleepless  eyes,  the  tattered,  powder- 
stained  sailors  and  marines  slaved  at  the  call  of 
humanity,  for,  should  the  sea  become  disturbed,  the 
catastrophe  would  be  too  frightful  to  picture,  and  the 
brave  old  Richard  was  sinking  fast.  A  crew  from 
the  Pallas  manned  the  pumps,  but  the  water  gained 
steadily  in  the  hold.  There  were  only  three  boats  left 
to  move  the  "poor  fellows,  who  had  to  be  handled 
tenderly,"  and  two  died  in  the  boats.  The  means  of 
transport  was  painfully  crude,  the  unprecedented 
situation  one  of  extreme  peril,  which  every  moment 
increased.  The  crew  of  the  Serapis  behaved  splen 
didly,  tirelessly  helping  the  enemy  of  the  night  before 
as  the  wounded  and  prisoners  quite  outnumbered  the 
able-bodied  crew  of  the  Richard.  At  last  the  transfer 
was  complete ;  and  dusk  fell,  but  still  they  worked. 
A  shiver  of  rising  wind  made  those  who  waited  with 
the  untiring  Commodore  urge  him  to  leave  his  task  of 
hastily  gathering  up  the  ship's  papers.  All  the  stores 
had  to  be  abandoned,  and  scarcely  any  of  the  ammu 
nition  was  saved.  Jones's  loss  amounted  to  50,000 
Hvres,  as  he  managed  to  save  "only  a  few  souvenirs 
from  feminine  friends  in  Paris,  his  journal,  and  a  bag 
of  linen."  "Most  of  the  officers  lost  everything." 


R 


258  PAUL    JONES 

Thanks  to  his  journal,  Jones  leaves  us  a  word-picture 
of  the  last  minutes  of  the  ship  he  had  fought  so 
daringly. 

"  No  one  was  now  left  aboard  the  Richard  but  our 
dead.  To  them  I  gave  the  good  old  ship  for  their 
coffin,  and  in  her  they  found  a  sublime  sepulchre. 
She  rolled  heavily  in  the  long  swell,  her  gun-deck 
awash  to  the  port  sills,  settled  slowly  by  the  head, 
and  sank  peacefully  in  about  forty  fathoms.  The 
flag  which  the  maidens  of  Portsmouth  had  given  the 
Commodore  fluttered  bravely  in  the  rising  breeze, 
and  the  last  vestige  mortal  eyes  ever  saw  of  the 
Bonhomme  Richard  was  the  defiant  waving  of  her 
unconquered  and  unstricken  flag  as  she  went  down." 

That  luck  Paul  Jones  considered  so  great  a  factor 
in  the  success  of  a  sailor  held  his  friend,  for  the  dead 
calm  which  allowed  him  to  move  his  wounded  from 
the  Richard,  had  kept  the  Edgar,  seventy-four  guns, 
—one  of  the  frigates  sent  to  capture  him — inert  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Humber  all  the  day  of  the  24th, 
when  every  minute  was  vital. 

When  the  Serapis,  badly  shattered,  with  mainmast 
shot  away,  spread  what  canvas  she  could  rig  on 
damaged  masts  and  spars,  and  got  slowly  under 
way  with  her  seven  hundred  souls  aboard,  it  was  a 
matter  for  conjecture  if  she  ever  could  make  port. 
The  great  number  of  prisoners  and  wounded,  the 
terrible  crowding,  the  insufficient  medical  aid,  after  so 
hot  a  fight,  turned  the  ship  into  a  charnel-house.  The 
situation  above  decks  was  extremely  awkward,  and 


PAUL   JONES  259 

Jones  suggested  that  Dr.  Bannatyne  should  use  his 
influence  to  get  Captain  Pearson  to  accept  Captain 
Cottineau's  cabin  on  the  Pallas,  which  had  been 
offered  at  the  Commodore's  wish. 

"  You  can  understand  as  I  do,"  he  said,  "  that  such 
an  arrangement  would  relieve  both  Captain  Pearson 
and  me  of  much  embarrassment."  And  he  told  the 
surgeon  that  Captain  Pearson  had  declined  to  be  his 
guest,  saying,  "he  would  rather  mess  with  his  sub 
ordinate  officers,  whom  I  have  quartered  in  the  gun 
room  of  this  ship,  which  does  not  seem  to  me 
proper." 

Captain  Pearson  accepted  the  hospitality  of  the 
Pallas 's  captain,  "requesting  Dr.  Bannatyne  to  pay 
his  most  feeling  compliments  to  Commodore  Jones, 
with  the  assurance  that  his  delicate  sense  in  the  matter 
was  fully  appreciated."  Dr.  Bannatyne  continues, 
"As  all  of  our  wounded  remained  on  board  the 
Sera-pis,  it  was  of  course  necessary  that  I  and  my 
assistant,  Dr.  Edgerley,  should  stay  with  them,  and 
we,  being  non-combatants,  shared  with  Dr.  Brook,  of 
the  late  Bonhomme  Richard,  the  mess  of  Commo 
dore  Jones,  there  being  no  ward-room  mess.  Only 
one  commissioned  officers'  mess  was  kept  up  after  the 
battle  till  we  gained  port." 

Nathaniel  Fanning  describes  the  voyage :  "  The 
course  was  for  Dunkirk,  but  on  the  2/th  a  gale  came 
up,  blowing  him  over  toward  the  coast  of  Denmark, 
as  it  was  impossible  to  handle  the  ship  with  the  in 
adequate  sails.  This  gale  continued  until  the  evening 
of  the  29th.  During  this  time  the  scenes  on  board 


R  2 


260  PAUL    JONES 

beggared  description.  There  were  but  few  cots  and 
not  even  enough  hammocks  for  the  wounded,  so  that 
many  of  them  had  to  lie  on  the  hard  decks,  where 
they  died  in  numbers  night  and  day.  The  British 
officers,  with  watches  of  their  men,  took  almost  the 
whole  charge  of  the  wounded,  and  left  us  free  to  work 
the  ship.  ...  In  the  common  danger  enmity  was 
forgotten,  and  every  one  who  could  walk  worked  with 
a  will  to  save  the  ship  and  their  own  lives.  Finally, 
on  the  fifth  day,  the  wind  abated  and  hauled  to  the 
north-west,  when  we  ran  down  to  the  coast  of  Holland, 
and  made  the  entrance  of  the  Helder,  through  which 
we  made  our  way  into  the  Texel,  where  we  anchored 
about  3  p.m.,  October  3rd,  finding  there  the  Alliance 
and  V engeance,  which  came  in  the  day  before. 
During  these  few  days,  including  those  not  wounded 
wTho  died  from  sheer  exhaustion,  we  buried  not  less 
than  forty  of  the  two  crews.  Neither  the  Commodore 
nor  the  brave  British  officers  ever  slept  more  than  two 
or  three  hours  at  a  time,  and  were  sometimes  up  for 
two  days  at  a  time.  As  the  Pallas,  being  not  much 
hurt,  and  her  prize  (the  Countess  of  Scarborough], 
could  work  to  windward,  the  Commodore  had  often 
signalled  them  to  bear  up  for  port  and  leave  him  to 
take  care  of  himself;  to  which  the  good  Captain 
Cottineau  always  replied  that  he  preferred  to  stand 

by" 

Politically  speaking,  Paul  Jones's  visit  to  the 
Helder  was  of  inestimable  service  to  the  American 
cause,  as  it  forced  the  Dutch  from  their  attitude  of 
neutrality,  compelled  them  to  cease  temporising,  and 


PAUL   JONES  261 

stand  forth  defiantly  in  the  face  of  their  old  enemy, 
England,  all  within  the  year.  Undoubtedly  this  end 
was  hoped  for  by  Franklin,  who  had  ordered  the 
squadron  under  Commodore  Jones  to  rendezvous  there 
the  previous  summer,  with  the  unavowed  intention  of 
involving  their  "  High  Mightinesses "  in  the  conflict 
they  were  so  craftily  trying  to  escape.  :( By  com 
pelling  England  to  declare  war,  and  the  Dutch  to 
declare  openly  for  the  United  States,  an  end  was 
virtually  put  to  a  contest,  in  which  Britain  was  left 
to  contend  single-handed  with  her  refractory  colonies, 
then  backed  by  France,  Spain  and  Holland." 

The  Alliance  was  already  in  the  Texel  when  the 
Serapis  and  Pallas  warped  slowly  into  port.  Though 
the  "  Commodore  and  the  brave  British  officers  had  not 
slept  more  than  two  or  three  hours  at  a  time,  and  were 
sometimes  up  for  two  days  at  a  time,"  there  was  little 
rest  to  be  found  at  the  Texel.  The  wounded  and 
prisoners  must  be  cared  for,  and  arrangements  made 
for  court-martialling  Landais.  Instantly  on  arriving, 
Jones  sent  special  messengers  to  Franklin  with  the 
news  of  the  great  victory,  and  a  report  of  Landais's 
scandalous  behaviour.  He  then  became  involved  in 
a  "diplomatic  duel"  with  Sir  Joseph  Yorke,  the 
British  Minister,  who  puzzled  their  "  High  Mighti 
nesses  dreadfully  by  formally  demanding  in  the  name 
of  King  George  the  prizes,  and  that  Paul  Jones  and 
his  crew  should  be  given  up  to  him  as  rebels  and 
pirates."  Despite  his  official  attitude,  he  recommends 
their  "  High  Mightinesses  shall  permit  the  wounded 
to  be  brought  on  shore  that  proper  attention  may  be 


262  PAUL    JONES 

paid  to  them."  This  their  High  Mightinesses  did, 
and  the  wounded  and  prisoners  from  both  ships  were 
lodged  in  an  old  fort. 

That  Sir  Joseph's  official  and  personal  views  of 
the  situation  differed,  may  be  gathered  from  Jones's 
letter  to  Bancroft,  under  the  date  of  December  17, 
1779,  in  which  he  says— 

'  The  Dutch  people  are  for  us  and  for  war.  .  .  . 
Nothing  now  keeps  Holland  neutral  except  the  influ 
ence  of  the  shipowners,  who  are  doing  almost  the 
entire  commerce  of  Europe  at  enormous  rates,  and 
the  bankers  of  Amsterdam,  who  are  handling  all  the 
continental  exchanges  that  before  the  war  went  to 
London.  And  our  cause  has  been  helped  by  the 
arrogance  of  Sir  Joseph  Yorke's  demands  and  the 
style  of  dictator  which  he  assumes  for  his  master 
the  King. 

"  Privately,  however,  I  am  told  that  Sir  Joseph  is 
a  clever  old  fellow  and  as  good  a  vis-a-vis  at  dinner 
as  one  could  wish.  Most  unexpectedly  i  encountered 
him  for  a  few  moments  at  the  house  of  M.  Van 
Berckel,  the  Grand  Pensionary,  when  arrangements 
were  being  made  for  the  comfort  of  the  wounded 
prisoners  who  had  been  landed.  I  had  expected  to 
deal  with  his  secretary,  but  Sir  Joseph  came  himself. 
He  was  most  civil,  and  requested  me,  if  not  too  in 
convenient,  to  supply  him  with  a  list  of  names  of  the 
wounded,  and  something  as  to  the  conditions  and 
prospects  of  each,  saying  he  wished  to  have  it  because 
so  many  letters  of  inquiry  came  to  him  about  them 
from  relatives  in  England.  This  I  did  as  soon  as  I 


PAUL   JONES  263 

returned  to  the  Texel.   ...   I  could  not  help  noting, 
though,  that  he  eyed  me  curiously. 

"  The  only  personal  allusion  he  made  was  to  say 
that  he  presumed  I  had  seen  or  heard  reports  in  print 
or  gossip  that  he  offered  reward  for  the  surreptitious 
seizure  of  my  person,  and  if  so  he  hoped  I  would  view 
them  with  suitable  contempt.  I  said  that  I  had  heard 
such  rumours,  but  that  my  knowledge  of  his  character 
was  a  sufficient  answer  to  them ;  for  which  he  thanked 
me.  He  offered  to  send  medicine,  blankets  and  food, 
and,  if  necessary,  to  employ  a  Dutch  physician  to  take 
the  place  of  Dr.  Bannatyne,  late  surgeon  of  the 
Sera-pis,  who  had  broken  down.  I  accepted  all  his 
good  offices  in  behalf  of  the  prisoners  on  shore. 

"  Sir  Joseph  said  he  would  send  the  supplies  up  by 
a  small  vessel  from  Amsterdam  to  the  Texel  in  a  day 
or  to,  consigned  to  me.  But  I,  not  wishing  to  be 
responsible  in  any  way  for  them,  for  fear  that  malicious 
enemies  might  accuse  me  of  appropriating  them— 
which  I  frankly  said  to  Sir  Joseph — requested  him 
to  consign  such  supplies  as  he  might  send  to  Dr. 
Edgerley,  late  surgeon  of  the  Scarborough,  who,  since 
the  illness  of  the  late  chief  surgeon  on  the  Serapis, 
had  been  placed  by  me  in  full  charge  of  his  wounded 
countrymen  landed  at  the  Texel.  Sir  Joseph  at  once 
most  politely  expressed  his  approval  of  this  sugges 
tion,  and  said  he  would  consign  the  supplies  to  Dr. 
Edgerley,  who,  being  a  non-combatant,  was,  of  course, 
not  held  under  any  restraint  whatever  by  me." 

The  supplies  arrived  a  few  days  later,  and  a  private 
letter  to  Dr.  Edgerley  "requesting  him  to  inform  me 


264  PAUL   JONES 

that  if,  as  he  suspected,  the  wounded  Americans  might 
also  be  in  need  of  such  supplies  as  he  had  sent,  they 
should  have  an  impartial  share  :  because,"  he  said,  "we 
all  know  that  old  England  can  never  tell  the  difference 
between  friends  and  foes  among  brave  men  wounded 
in  battle,  even  if  some  of  them  may,  peradventure,  be 
rebels  ! 

"  I  confess  that  when  Dr.  Edgerley  showed  to  me 
this  sentiment  of  Sir  Joseph's  I  was  at  a  loss  for  com 
ment,  and  said  only  that  nothing  else  could  be 
expected  from  an  English  gentleman  !  But  I  must 
also  confess  that  my  opinion  of  Sir  Joseph  as  a  man 
from  that  moment  took  a  very  wide  divergence  from 
my  estimate  of  him  as  an  ambassador." 

So  assiduous  were  the  dames  of  Holland,  that  Jones 
was  able  to  "dispense  with  Sir  Joseph's  charity  to  the 
wounded  of  our  own  crew."  Was  it  thanks  to  the 
personality  of  the  "  rebel  and  pirate  "  commander  that 
the  "  lovely  Holland  dames  and  daughters  of  the 
Helder  every  day  thronged  the  decks  of  the  Serapis 
and  the  Pallas  with  all  the  delicacies  that  only  the 
good  hearts  of  women  can  contrive  for  the  comfort 
and  succour  of  brave  men  who  have  been  wounded 
in  battle?" 

Though  this  is  anticipating,  it  is  better  to  conclude 
the  wrangle  with  their  High  Mightinesses.  Sir  Joseph 
would  not  let  the  matter  rest,  urging  persistently  that 
Jones  should  be  given  over  to  British  authority.  The 
States  of  Holland  in  cases  of  this  kind  were  always 
governed  by  a  set  of  "  maxims."  These  "  maxims  " 
dictated  that  they  should  decline  deciding  on  the 


PAUL   JONES  265 

validity  of  captures  in  the  open  seas  of  vessels  not 
belonging  to  their  own  subjects.  They  afforded  at 
all  times  shelter  in  their  harbours  to  all  ships  what 
soever,  if  driven  in  by  stress  of  weather;  but  compelled 
armed  ships  with  their  prizes  to  put  to  sea  again  as 
soon  as  possible,  without  permitting  them  to  dispose 
of  their  cargoes ;  and  this  conduct  they  were  to  follow 
in  the  case  of  Jones." 

The  High  Mightinesses  were  in  a  pretty  pickle, 
"and  declined  to  pass  judgment  on  the  person  and 
prizes  of  Paul  Jones."  If  they  protected  him  as  an 
American,  it  showed  open  defiance  to  England,  which 
at  the  moment  they  were  not  anxious  to  do,  "  and 
the  French  commission  under  which  it  was  alleged  he 
acted  could  never  be  forthcoming." 

How  it  must  have  wrung  the  souls  of  the  thrifty 
Dutch  merchants  who  were  publicly  forbidden  to  sell 
naval  or  military  stores  to  the  squadron,  except  barest 
necessities  to  carry  them  to  the  first  foreign  port, 
"that  all  suspicion  of  their  being  furnished  here  may 
drop  !  " 

Sir  Joseph  tirelessly  kept  the  matter  before  their 
High  Mightinesses,  who  worried  the  French  ambas 
sador,  the  Due  de  la  Vauguyon,  who  was  in  his  turn 
pestered  by  de  Chaumont,  and  those  of  his  party  wish 
ing  to  get  these  rich  prizes  into  their  hands.  Though 
actuated  by  different  motives,  all  united  in  one  great 
wish — to  get  Paul  Jones  out  of  the  way.  This  daring 
man  had  never  been  in  a  more  critical  situation.  A 
light  squadron  of  English  ships  was  kept  cruising 
about  to  "  prevent  his  gaining  any  French  or  Spanish 


266  PAUL   JONES 

port/5  if  he  succeeded  in  escaping  the  ships  at  the 
entrance  of  the  Texel.  "  So  deep  and  galling  was  the 
wound  this  individual  had  inflicted  on  the  national 
pride,  that  the  capture  of  '  one  Paul  Jones '  would  have 
at  this  time  been  more  welcome  to  England  than  if 
she  had  conquered  a  rich  argosy,"  is  the  opinion 
expressed  by  one  anonymous  biographer. 

Jones,  if  it  had  been  left  to  his  judgment,  would 
have  taken  his  prizes  to  Dunkirk,  which  was  a  French 
port,  and  one  where  he  would  have  been  free  from 
these  diplomatic  complications.  Franklin  ordered 
him  to  the  Texel  primarily  with  the  bribe  of  the 
Indien,  really,  as  it  turned  out,  to  bring  matters  to  a 
crisis  between  Holland  and  England.  But  Jones  was 
destined  not  to  have  the  Indien,  for  "  the  same  officious 
commissary,  whose  talkative  propensities  and  suspici 
ous  disposition  had  so  frequently  baffled  the  projects 
of  Jones,  had  again  been  at  work,  and,  although  the 
Dutch  Government  might  have  winked  at  the  sailing 
of  the  fleet  under  his  convoy,  the  measure  would  have 
been  rendered  abortive  by  premature  disclosure." 
Jones  declared  that  he  suspected  Le  Ray  de  Chaumont 
to  be  at  the  bottom  of  all  this  caballing,  "  as  he  wished 
to  control  the  sale  of  the  Serapis  as  a  prize,  under  the 
provisions  of  the  Concordat,  she  being  worth  more 
than  all  the  others  taken  after  the  three  sent  to  Bergen 
had  been  given  up."  These  ships  were  sent  to  Bergen 
in  express  defiance  of  Jones's  orders,  as  the  King  of 
Denmark  was  wholly  at  the  disposition  of  King 
George,  to  whom,  at  the  first  demand,  he  turned  over 
the  hard-won  prizes,  losing  both  prizes  and  prize- 


PAUL   JONES  267 

money  to  Jones  and  his  crew.  This  incident  formed 
the  subject  of  endless  negotiations  for  several  years, 
as  there  were  so  many  questions  of  international 
marine  law  to  be  adjusted. 

"  The  Due  de  la  Vauguyon,  Mr.  Dumas  and  Dr. 
Franklin  now  apprehended  that  de  Reynst  would  take 
it  upon  himself  to  use  force  at  any  time  he  might 
select  to  compel  me  to  quit  the  roadstead  with  my 
squadron,"  Jones  writes,  adding,  that  de  Reynst  had 
lately  been  ordered  to  command  the  Dutch  fleet  in 
the  Texel,  as  Commodore  Riemersma  was  "  of  the 
American  party,  and  he  had  already  been  extremely 
polite  to  me  personally;  so  much  so,  that  Sir  Joseph 
Yorke  felt  called  upon  to  mention  it  among  his  griev 
ances.  On  the  other  hand,  de  Reynst  was  a  tool  in 
the  hands  of  his  Serene  Highness  the  Prince  Stadt- 
holder  (Prince  of  Orange),  who  in  turn  was  a  tool 
in  the  hands  of  Sir  Joseph.  .  .  .  The  diplomats  were 
sure  that  I  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  these  (English 
ships)  as  soon  as  I  might  get  in  the  offing." 

"A  provisional  commission"  as  capitaine  de  vais- 
seau  in  the  French  navy,  was  twice  offered  to  and 
finally  refused  by  Jones  on  December  I3th.  It  was 
thought  that  the  French  flag  would  be  respected  by 
the  Dutch.  tc  In  vain  I  expostulated  with  them  that 
by  accepting  the  shelter  of  the  French  flag  I  should  do 
exactly  of  all  things  that  which  Sir  Joseph  Yorke 
wished  me  to  do ;  namely,  withdraw  all  pretensions 
of  the  United  States  as  a  party  to  the  situation,  and 
thereby  confess  that  the  United  States  claimed  no 
status  as  a  sovereign  power  in  a  neutral  port.  They 


268  PAUL   JONES 

all  knew  what  I  had  written  to  the  States-General  on 
November  4th,  'in  rejoinder  to  Sir  Joseph's  demand 
that  I  be  treated  as  a  'pirate/  and  they  had  approved  it. 
I  now  contended  that  to  seek  shelter  under  the  French 
flag  or  behind  a  French  commission  would  stultify  the 
position  I  then  took;  but  none  of  them  would  so  view 
it.  On  the  contrary,  they  all,  but  more  particularly 
the  Duke,  endeavoured  to  mystify  me  with  a  mass  of 
abstrusities  in  diplomatic  usage  and  international  law 
which  had  no  bearing  on  the  case  that  I  could  see." 

He  offered  to  turn  the  prisoners  over  to  the  French 
ambassador,  with  the  agreement  that  an  exchange 
should  be  made  for  American  prisoners  in  England, 
and  "  leave  Captain  Cottineau  to  hoist  the  French  flag 
on  the  Pallas,  the  Vengeance,  and  Cottineau's  prize 
the  Countess  of  Scarborough,  and  then  make  the  best 
of  my  way  to  sea  with  the  Serapis  and  Alliance  under 
the  American  flags." 

Tired  as  he  was  of  this  wrangle,  Jones  could  not 
help  seeing  the  humour  of  these  worthy  gentlemen's 
objection  that  the  new  mainmast  he  had  put  in  the 
Serapis  was  too  short,  "  and  she  could  not  sail  with 
it  well  enough  to  stand  a  chance  of  escaping  the  ships 
of  the  enemy  on  blockade.  I  modestly  suggested,"  he 
comments,  "  that  I  being  somewhat  of  a  seaman  ought 
to  be  left  to  judge  of  that;  but  they,  none  of  whom 
could  tell  a  main-brace  from  a  marlin-spike,  knew 
better,  and  it  was  decided  I  should  take  out  only  the 
Alliance" 

When  he  flatly  refused  to  fall  in  with  all  their  sug 
gestions,  he  was  presented  with  an  order  from  Dr. 


PAUL    JONES  269 

Franklin,  who,  for  a  friend,  seems  to  have  caused  some 
of  the  ambitious  Scotchman's  bitterest  moments,  "  that 
he  should  turn  over  all  the  prisoners  and  the  ships, 
except  the  Alliance,  to  Captain  Cottineau,"  and  then 
do  what  I  pleased,  or  what  I  could  with  the  Alliance. 
I  afterwards  found  out  that  this  order  had  been  pro 
cured  at  the  same  time  as  my  French  commission, 
but  held  up  only  to  serve  on  me  as  a  last  resource  if 
I  proved  contumacious." 

Destined  to  be  the  sport  of  political  juggling,  Paul 
could  not  learn  that  others  had  not  the  one-purposed 
spirit  which  animated  him,  and  he  confesses,  "  The 
deprivation  of  the  Serapis  was  the  sorest  of  all  my 
wounds.  I  had  long  ago  given  up  hope  of  command 
ing  the  Indien.  The  Serapis  had  been  taken  by  an 
American  ship  under  the  American  flag,  and  com 
manded  by  virtue  of  an  American  commission.  I 
could  not  conceive  by  what  shadow  of  right  M.  de 
Sartine  could  claim  her  as  a  French  prize,  and  he 
made  no  attempt  to  set  up  any." 

Under  the  heading,  "On  the  Bonhomme's  prize, 
the  ship  of  war  Serapis"  at  the  Texel,  November  4, 
1779,  he  wrote  to  the  French  ambassador  explain 
ing  that  he  had  spoken  with  the  commandant  of  the 
Road  on  board  his  ship,  the  latter  "questioning 
me  very  closely  whether  I  had  a  French  commis 
sion,  and,  if  I  had,  he  almost  insisted  on  seeing 
it.  In  conformity  with  your  advice,  '  Cet  avis 
donne  au  commencement  n'etoit  plus  de  saison 
depuis  ^admission  de  V escadre  sous  pavilion  Ameri- 
cain*  I  told  him  that  my  French  commission  not 


270  PAUL   JONES 

having  been  found  among  my  papers  since  the  loss 
of  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  I  feared  it  had  gone  to 
the  bottom  in  that  ship;  but  if  it  was  really  lost  it 
would  be  an  easy  matter  to  procure  a  duplicate  of  it 
from  France.  The  commandant  appeared  to  be  very 
uneasy  and  anxious  for  my  departure.  I  have  told 
him  that  as  there  are  eight  of  the  enemy's  ships  lying 
in  wait  for  me  at  the  south  entrance,  and  four  more  at 
the  north  entrance  of  the  port,  I  was  unable  to  fight 
more  than  three  times  my  force,  but  that  he  might 
rest  assured  of  my  intention  to  depart  with  the  utmost 
expedition  whenever  I  found  a  possibility  to  go  clear. 

"  I  should  have  departed  long  ago,  if  I  had  met 
with  common  assistance;  but  for  a  fortnight  past  I 
have  every  day  expected  the  necessary  supply  of  water 
from  Amsterdam  in  cisterns,  and  I  am  last  night 
informed  that  it  cannot  be  had  without  I  send  up 
water-casks.  The  provision,  too,  that  I  ordered  the 
day  I  returned  from  Amsterdam  from  the  Hague,  is 
not  yet  sent  down ;  and  the  spars  that  have  been  sent 
from  Amsterdam  are  spoiled  in  the  making.  None 
of  the  ironwork  that  is  ordered  for  the  Sera-pis  is  yet 
completed,  so  that  I  am,  even  at  this  hour,  in  want 
of  hinges  to  hang  the  lower  gun-ports.  My  officers 
and  men  lost  their  clothes  and  beds  in  the  Bonhomme 
Richard,  and  they  have  yet  got  no  supply.  The  bread 
that  has  been  twice  a  week  sent  down  from  Amsterdam 
to  feed  my  people,  has  been,  literally  speaking,  rotten, 
and  the  consequence  is  that  they  are  falling  sick. 

"  It  is  natural  also  that  they  should  be  discontented, 
while  I  am  not  able  to  tell  them  that  they  will  be  paid 


PAUL   JONES  271 

the  value  of  their  property  in  the  Serapis  and  Countess 
of  Scarborough,  if  either  or  both  of  them  should  be 
lost  or  taken  after  sailing  from  here. 

"  I  have  but  few  men  and  they  are  discontented. 
If  you  can  authorise  me  to  promise  them,  at  all 
hazards,  that  their  property  in  the  prizes  shall  be 
made  good,  and  that  they  shall  receive  the  necessary 
clothing  and  bedding,  etc.,  or  the  money  to  buy  them, 
I  believe  I  shall  soon  be  able  to  bring  them  again 
into  a  good  humour.  .  .  ." 

There  seemed  no  way  out  of  this  labyrinth,  when 
the  French  unexpectedly  cut  the  Gordian  knot,  declar 
ing  the  cruise  at  an  end,  and.  with  the  amiable  co 
operation  of  Franklin,  placed  the  vessels  under  the 
French  flag,  ordering  Jones  to  command  the  Alliance, 
and  Landais  to  Paris  to  explain  his  behaviour  to  the 
plenipotentiaries. 

:<  Jones  received  the  information  with  disgust  and 
chagrin ;  but  such  were  the  orders  of  de  Sartine,  such," 
is  this  writer's  opinion,  "the  course  sound  policy 
dictated."  It  would  seem  in  this,  as  in  so  many  similar 
instances,  that  Franklin  in  his  later  years  grew  rather 
indifferent  to  the  interests  of  his  mission,  and  sacri 
ficed  his  friend  to  save  controversy  and  worry,  perhaps 
to  keep  in  favour  with  the  French  people,  whose 
adulation  so  pleased  his  vanity. 

After  an  altercation  with  the  French  ambassador 
at  the  Hague,  lasting,  Jones  says,  thirteen  hours,  he 
reluctantly  bade  farewell  to  the  Serapis,  "  whose  deck 
seemed  the  theatre  of  his  glory."  The  squadron 
sailed  shortly  after  under  Dutch  convoy,  and  he  was 


272  PAUL   JONES 

left  alone  on  his  new  ship,  which  he  found  like  all 
vessels  commanded  by  Landais,  filthy,  in  sad  repair, 
with  a  crew  on  the  verge  of  mutiny. 

Paul  was  now  offered  a  French  commission,  the 
command  of  a  letter-of-marque  !  Whatever  his  per 
sonal  difficulties,  he  was  at  this  time  in  "the  blaze 
of  his  fame,"  talked  of,  says  Franklin,  "at  Paris 
and  Versailles,"  celebrated  throughout  Europe  and 
America.  His  temper  and  blood  were  at  no  time  very 
cool  on  sudden  excitement,  and  the  excess  of  his 
indignation  may  be  imagined  when  he  received  the 
insulting  offer  of  a  letter-of-marque.  He  had  thrown 
up  his  chances  of  advancement  in  the  American  navy 
to  stay  in  France.  He  had  put  up  with  insult,  annoy 
ance  and  suspicion — for  this.  He  wrote  to  the  French 
ambassador  to  the  Hague  a  letter  considered  "  one 
of  the  best  productions  of  his  pen." 

"  'Alliance,'  Texet,  December  13,  1779. 

"  MY  LORD, 

"  Perhaps  there  are  many  men  in  the  world  who 
would  esteem  as  an  honour  the  commission  that  I  have 
this  day  refused. 

"  My  rank  from  the  beginning  knew  no  superior  in 
the  Marine  of  America,  how  then  must  I  be  humbled 
were  I  to  accept  a  letter-of-marque  !  I  should,  my 
lord,  esteem  myself  inexcusable,  were  I  to  accept  even 
a  commission  of  equal  or  superior  denomination  to 
that  I  bear,  unless  I  were  previously  authorised  by 
Congress.  .  .  .  Comte  d'Orvillers  offered  to  procure 
for  me  from  a  Court  a  commission  of  '  capitaine  de 


PAUL    JONES  273 

vaissea^t))  which  I  did  not  then  accept  for  the  same 
reason,  although  the  war  between  France  and  England 
was  not  then  begun,  and  of  course  the  commission  of 
France  would  have  protected  me  from  an  enemy  of 
superior  force. 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  the  highest  astonishment  to  me 
that,  after  so  many  compliments  and  fair  professions, 
the  Court  should  offer  the  present  insult  to  my  under 
standing,  and  suppose  me  capable  of  disgracing  my 
present  commission.  I  confess  that  I  never  merited 
all  the  praise  bestowed  on  my  past  conduct,  but  I  also 
feel  that  I  have  far  less  merited  such  a  reward. 
Where  profession  and  practice  are  so  opposite,  I  am 
no  longer  weak  enough  to  form  a  wrong  conclusion. 
They  may  think  as  they  please  of  me;  for  where  I 
cannot  continue  my  esteem,  praise  or  censure  from 
any  man  is  to  me  a  matter  of  indifference.  .  .  . 

:'  When  I  remained  eight  months  seemingly  forgot 
by  the  Court  at  Brest,  many  commissions  such  as  that 
in  question  were  offered  to  me;  and  I  believe  (when 
I  am  in  pursuit  of  plunder]  I  can  still  obtain  such  an 
one  without  application  to  Court.  .  .  ." 

Jones  told  Franklin  in  the  letter  enclosing  this, 
*  They  have  played  upon  my  good  humour  too  long 
already,  but  the  spell  is  at  last  dissolved.  They  would 
play  me  off  with  the  assurance  of  the  personal  and 
particular  esteem  of  the  King,  to  induce  me  to  do  what 
would  render  me  contemptible  even  in  the  eyes  of  my 
own  servants  !  Accustomed  to  speak  untruth  them 
selves,  they  would  also  have  me  to  give  under  my 


274  PAUL   JONES 

hand  that  I  am  a  liar  and  a  scoundrel.  They  are 
mistaken,  and  I  would  tell  them  what  you  did  to  your 
naughty  servant,  '  We  have  too  contemptible  an 
opinion  of  one  another's  understanding  to  live  to 
gether/  I  could  tell  them,  too,  that  if  Monsieur  de 
Chaumont  had  not  taken  such  safe  precautions  to 
keep  me  honest  by  means  of  his  famous  Concordat, 
and  to  support  me  by  so  many  able  colleagues,  these 
great  men  would  not  have  been  reduced  to  such  mean 
shifts.  .  .  ." 

In  reply  to  his  letter,  Jones  soon  received  one  of 
apology  from  the  ambassador,  which  to  some  extent 
pacified  him,  without  materially  altering  his  views  on 
the  situation. 

The  first  letter  from  Franklin  contained  a  measure 
of  balm  for  his  wounded  feelings.  "  For  some  days," 
he  wrote,  "  after  the  arrival  of  your  express,  scarce 
anything  was  talked  of  at  Paris  and  Versailles  but 
your  cool  conduct  and  persevering  bravery  during  that 
terrible  conflict.  You  may  believe  that  the  impression 
on  my  mind  was  not  the  less  strong  than  that  on  others, 
but  I  do  not  choose  to  say  in  a  letter  to  yourself  all  I 
think  on  such  an  occasion. 

'  The  Ministry  are  much  dissatisfied  with  Captain 
Landais,  and  M.  de  Sartine  has  signified  to  me  in 
writing  that  it  is  expected  that  I  should  send  for 
him  to  Paris  and  call  him  to  account  for  his  con 
duct.  .  .  ."  Franklin  intimates  that  he  will  follow 
this  suggestion,  allowing  Landais  the  chance  of  an 
explanation,  a  court-martial  being  inconvenient  at  the 
moment. 


PAUL   JONES  275 

Immediately  the  fleet  anchored  in  the  Texel,  Jones 
took  action  to  restore  proper  discipline  to  ships 
and  crews.  With  this  end  in  view  he  removed 
Landais  from  the  Alliance,  replacing  him  with  his  first 
lieutenant,  Arthur  Degge.  As  Landais  treated  this 
order  with  supercilious  contempt,  his  commander  sent 
Captain  Cottineau  with  a  curt  intimation  to  the  effect 
that,  if  he  was  not  instantly  obeyed,  "he  would  be 
under  the  painful  necessity  of  boarding  the  Alliance 
and  carrying  the  order  into  force  personally  at  the 
end  of  twenty-four  hours." 

Without  replying  to  this,  Landais  sent  Captain 
Cottineau  a  challenge,  after  the  latter  had  left  the 
Alliance,  on  the  pretext  that  an  affront  was  offered  in 
bringing  him  the  message.  However,  he  waited  for 
no  new  developments,  disappearing  bag  and  baggage 
early  next  morning.  A  few  hours  later  Jones  mustered 
the  crew,  informing  them  officially  that  Captain 
Landais  had  been  relieved  of  his  command,  and  in 
stalling  Lieutenant  Degge  in  his  place.  Such  of  the 
crew  as  had  been  strong  partisans  of  Landais  were  sent 
on  other  ships,  and  Degge  ordered,  in  case  of  the  late 
captain's  reappearance,  to  signal  to  the  flag-ship  for 
instructions. 

But  Landais  did  not  return.  His  challenge  having 
been  accepted  by  Cottineau,  they  fought  on  the  Island 
of  the  Texel  with  rapiers,  his  opponent  running 
Cottineau  through  the  side  and  receiving  a  slight 
scratch  on  the  neck,  after  which  the  duel  was  stopped 
by  the  seconds.  Bent  on  mischief,  Landais  went  to 
Amsterdam  and  ordered  immense  quantities  of  stores 


s  2 


276  PAUL   JONES 

for  the  Alliance  from  Neufville  &  Co.,  agents  of  the 
United  States.  His  baffled  spite  on  discovering  that 
Dr.  Franklin  had  forbidden  them  to  furnish  supplies, 
except  on  personal  voucher  of  Commodore  Jones,  may 
be  pictured.  .  .  .  Checkmated  in  this  direction,  he 
commenced  writing  abusive  letters  to  Jones,  who 
ignored  them,  enraging  Landais  to  such  a  pitch  of  fury 
that  he  sent  Jones  a  challenge  through  the  post— 
an  insult  in  itself,  and  an  infraction  of  the  rigid  laws 
of  duelling.  For  this  reason  and  for  the  fact  that 
Landais  was  still  under  the  charge  of  conduct  unbe 
coming  an  officer  and  a  gentleman,  Jones  could  have 
declined  the  challenge.  But  this  was  the  one  com 
munication  he  yearned  to  receive  from  his  enemy,  and 
joyously  ignoring  all  irregularities,  despatched  Lieu 
tenants  Harry  Lunt  and  John  Mayrant  to  wait  upon 
Landais.  Having,  as  the  challenged  party,  the  choice 
of  weapons,  Jones  chose  pistols  at  ten  paces,  and 
Landais,  who  was  an  expert  with  the  rapier,  and  had 
planned  to  kill  Jones  or  injure  him  for  life,  found 
himself  outwitted  at  his  own  game.  He  protested 
angrily  to  Mayrant  and  Lunt  that  it  was  barbarous 
and  that  the  pistol  was  not  recognised  under  the 
French  code. 

"  To  this  Lunt  responded  that  the  code  prevailing 
in  America  did  recognise  the  pistol,  and  that  Com 
modore  Jones,  being  an  American,  was  entitled 
to  proceed  according  to  the  code  of  his  own 
country." 

Pierre  Landais  had  not  the  slightest  ambition  to 
confront  his  outraged  commander  at  the  foolishly 


PAUL   JONES  277 

inadequate  distance  of  ten  paces,  and  departed  under 
cover  of  night  in  a  post-chaise  for  Paris. 

He  was  loathed  by  the  crew  of  the  Richard,  who 
laid  the  death  of  many  of  their  bravest  comrades  to 
his  cowardly  broadsides  from  the  Alliance.  Lieu 
tenant  Dick  Dale  had  publicly  insulted  him  in  a  coffee 
house  at  the  Helder,  where  Dale,  who  was  only 
wounded  a  few  days  before  and  still  limping  badly, 
with  his  usual  impetuosity  tried  to  force  a  public 
quarrel  on  Landais,  denouncing  his  behaviour  in  the 
Alliance ;  and  in  order  that  there  might  be  no  mistake 
in  Landais's  mind  about  his  meaning,  he  expressed 
himself  in  Landais's  own  tongue,  saying  to  him, 
among  other  things — • 

"  On  ne  fait  rien  de  votre  conduite  a  cette  occasion, 
autre  que  ccla  dun  poltron  ou  dun  traitre,  ou  des  deux 
ensemble  !  Moi,  cela  ne  fait  aucun  doute  que  vous 
avez  merite  bien  le  gibet  !  "  ("  One  can  make  nothing 
out  of  your  conduct  on  that  occasion  but  that  of  a 
coward  or  a  traitor,  or  both  !  To  me  there  is  not  the 
slightest  doubt  but  that  you  richly  deserve  the 
gallows.") 

Only  the  interference  of  the  bystanders  prevented 
a  fight  on  the  spot,  both  men  being  armed,  and  Lan 
dais,  poltroon  though  he  was,  would  hardly  have 
refused  to  fight  if  attacked.  Dale  impatiently  awaited 
the  challenge,  which,  according  to  all  precedent,  must 
be  sent;  but  it  never  came,  as  Landais  got  out  of  it 
by  standing  on  the  difference  in  their  rank.  He  was 
considered  prudent  in  not  pressing  the  quarrel,  be 
cause  Dick  was  a  dead  shot  with  a  pistol,  and  equally 


278  PAUL   JONES 

adept  with  Landais  in  the  use  of  the  rapier,  "  and  all 
who  knew  him  knew  well  that  the  first  crossing  of 
blades  would  make  his  lame  leg — for  the  time  being, 
at  least — as  well  as  it  ever  was."  If  Dick  had  fought 
it  was  with  the  intention  of  killing  Landais.  This 
intention,  of  which  Dale  made  no  secret,  being  the 
reason  Jones  chose  other  seconds  to  wait  on  Landais. 
Not  willing  to  fight  in  the  open,  this  mischief-maker 
went  to  the  Hague,  trying  to  enlist  the  French  ambas 
sador's  sympathies,  but  de  Vauguyon  refused  an  in 
terview.  Landais  then  tried  to  get  the  Chevalier  de 
Livoncourt,  France's  Naval  Agent  in  Holland,  to  give 
a  written  statement  to  the  Due,  but  this  de  Vauguyon 
refused  to  receive,  instructing  de  Livoncourt  to  tell 
Landais  that  M.  de  Sartine  had  communicated  to  him 
the  fact  that  Dr.  Franklin  "  had  notified  Landais  of 
the  charges  against  him "  and  had  ordered  him  to 
report  in  person  to  Dr.  Franklin  at  once,  bringing  with 
him  "such  witnesses  as  he  might  judge  needful  for 
his  defence."  Being  politely  frozen  out  of  Holland, 
Landais  betook  himself  to  Passy,  as  ordered. 

On  Christmas  Day  1779  such  a  gale  blew  off  the 
Texel  that  most  of  the  patrolling  English  frigates 
were  driven  off  the  coast,  which  was  what  Commodore 
Jones  had  long  waited  for,  and  seized  the  opportunity 
to  slip  out  on  to  the  high  seas.  Though  the  gale  still 
swept  the  coast  and  menaced  shipping,  it  abated  a 
little  the  afternoon  of  the  26th,  and  late  that  night,  or, 
rather,  early  on  the  morning  of  the  27th,  Jones  stood 
out  to  sea  in  the  Alliance,  boldly  shaping  his  course 
for  the  Straits  of  Dover.  Daring  as  ever,  Jones  sailed 


PAUL   JONES  279 

down  the  Channel,  passing  within  pistol-shot  of  the 
Channel  Fleet  anchored  off  Spithead,  but  good  for 
tune  and  his  cool  fearlessness  carried  him  through 
this  fleet  where  every  soul  was  on  the  qui  vive  for  his 
capture.  Safely  out  of  a  very  dangerous  neighbour 
hood,  the  Alliance  sailed  for  Corunna,  where,  Spain 
and  England  being  at  war,  the  Commodore  was  enthu 
siastically  welcomed  and  made  much  of. 

The  junior  officers  of  the  Alliance,  not  being  ham 
pered  by  fears  of  the  hereafter,  amused  themselves 
making  the  acquaintance — goodness  knows  where 
of  some  very  pretty  young  nuns,  supposedly  safe  in 
the  shelter  of  their  cloister.  The  usual  golden  means 
of  opening  locks  was  evidently  employed,  for  these 
giddy  young  women  met  Mayrant  and  Midshipman 
Potter  "at  the  house  of  a  cordwainer,  near  the  con 
vent.  They  were  surprised  there  by  the  Spanish 
police,  and  the  officers  were  placed  in  the  calabazo," 
the  adventurous  nuns  being  "hustled  back  to  their 
convent." 

Thanks  to  the  kind  offices  of  that  "  little  cherub  who 
sits  up  aloft  and  looks  out  for  the  life  of  poor  Jack," 
Commodore  Jones  was  dining  with  the  Governor  of 
Corunna  when  the  incident  was  reported.  The  dinner 
had  been  long  and  heavy,  the  wines  excellent;  the 
Governor  easily  agreed  to  the  wish  of  the  deferential 
but  exceedingly  quick-witted  Commodore  that  he 
should  be  allowed  to  take  the  offenders  aboard  the 
Alliance  and  "visit  upon  them  the  most  condign 
punishment."  The  Alliance  was  to  sail  the  next  day 
but  one,  and  Jones,  knowing  the  prejudice  against 


280  PAUL    JONES 

heretics,  which  in  this  instance  would  be  intensified, 
as  they  had  trespassed  on  the  sacred  precincts  of  the 
Church,  deemed  it  safer  to  have  his  "boys"  under  his 
eye,  than  take  any  chances  of  their  being  embroiled 
with  the  authorities.  "  His  Excellency  was  polite 
enough  to  agree  with  this,  and  the  two  culprits  were 
taken  from  the  calabazo  and  sent  aboard  consider 
ably  past  midnight.  Next  day  a  summary  court- 
martial  was  convened,  which  "sentenced"  Mayrant 
and  Potter  to  deprivation  of  their  rank  and  other 
penalties. 

'  This  finding  the  Commodore  translated  into 
Spanish,  engrossed  a  copy  of  it  with  his  own  hand,  and 
forwarded  the  same  to  his  Excellency  the  Governor, 
under  the  escort  of  a  lieutenant  and  two  officers,  as 
behooved  the  solemn  occasion.  The  Governor  received 
the  deputation  with  much  gravity,  "  and  expressed 
complete  satisfaction  at  the  promptness  and  thorough 
ness  of  the  Commodore's  action,  saying  it  was  much 
better  that  the  affair  should  have  taken  this  course 
than  to  have  detained  the  offenders  for  punishment  by 
the  Spanish  authorities,  which  might  have  caused 
complications. 

:(  But  once  at  sea  the  Commodore  reviewed  the  case 
and  peremptorily  set  the  proceedings  aside  on  the 
ground  that  the  -punishment  was  inadequate  to  the 
offence  /"  This  restored  their  former  rank  to  the  gay 
Lotharios,  who  were  the  butt  of  much  sly  wit  and 
allusion — for  getting  caught ! 

Rather  a  striking  little  incident  is  the  following, 
as  illustrating  the  temper  of  this  crew.  The  second 


PAUL   JONES  281 

day  out  from   Corunna  the  Jack-o'-the-dust  handed 
Jones  a  petition,  which  ran  as  follows— 

"  We  respectfully  request  you,  sir,  to  lay  us  along 
side  any  single-decked  English  ship  to  be  found  in 
these  seas,  or  any  double-decked  ship  under  a  fifty." 
This  was  not  a  "  round  Robin,  but  a  straight  petition, 
headed  by  old  John  Robinson,  and  signed  in  order  of 
rating  by  every  member  of  the  crew,  including  cooks 
and  cabin-boys." 

:'  When  this  paper  was  handed  to  me,"  said  the 
Commodore,  "  I  could  hardly  control  my  feelings.  I 
at  once  mustered  the  crew  and  told  them  that  it  was 
necessary  to  return  to  1'Orient  .  .  .  we  were  not  pre 
pared  for  a  long  cruise.  .  .  .  Being  midwinter  we 
would  not  have  much  chance  of  encountering  English 
cruisers  of  force  similar  to  our  own  in  the  Bay  of 
Biscay.  But  I  promised  them  that  I  would  keep  a 
good  look-out  and,  if  occasion  presented,  would 
conform  exactly  to  the  terms  of  their  petition." 

Without  doubt  there  was  extra  grog  served  out  that 
day,  and  alert  eyes  kept  a  sharp  look-out  for  the 
hoped-for  sail,  but,  to  their  great  disappointment,  they 
reached  1'Orient  without  adventure. 

There  was  a  perpetual  demand  for  American  officers 
to  command  French  privateers,  and  Mayrant  and 
Fanning  were  offered  most  advantageous  commands, 
if  Jones  would  allow  them  to  accept.  On  these 
privateers  the  French  made  a  practice  of  putting  on 
board  an  "agent  comptable"  who,  under  the  guise 
of  purser,  could — according  to  the  French  law  govern 
ing  privateers,  and  the  Concordat  the  Americans  had 


282  PAUL   JONES 

to  sign — command  the  ship,  the  captain  being  reduced 
to  a  mere  sailing-master  and  "  colleague  "  on  his  own 
ship.  Jones  refused  to  allow  Mayrant  and  Fanning 
to  go  unless  the  papers  were  made  out  so  that  they 
were  both  captain  and  agent  comptable.  After  much 
heated  argument  he  won  his  point,  for,  as  he  told 
Mercereau,  who  was  recruiting  for  the  privateer,  "  I 
had  my  fill  to  the  full  of  French  chicanery,  and  that 
unless  he  could  take  my  boys  on  my  terms  he  could 
leave  them  as  they  were,  with  me."  Thanks  to  their 
Commander's  firmness  and  their  complete  independ 
ence,  Mayrant  and  Fanning,  in  their  twenty-months 
cruise,  with  two  privateers,  made  something  like 
£200,000,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned, 
and  earned  for  themselves  a  reputation  for  daring  that 
was  not  soon  forgotten. 

The  Alliance  needed  a  refit,  which  on  his  arrival 
at  TOrient,  despite  Franklin's  howls  of  economy, 
Jones  proceeded  to  give  her.  "  His  professional 
spirit  of  liberality  far  outran  the  frugal  genius  of 
Franklin,  and  the  almost  pathetic  remonstrances 
addressed  to  him  by  the  Republican  sage  are  as  amus 
ing  as  they  are  characteristic."  .  .  .  "  The  whole 
expense  will  fall  on  me  !  "  cries  Franklin,  as  the  Court 
of  France  had  demurred  to  incurring  further  expenses 
for  this  refractory  hero  and  his  American  ship,  and  I 
am  ill-provided  to  bear  it,  having  so  many  unexpected 
calls  upon  me  from  all  quarters.  I  therefore  beg  you 
would  have  mercy  on  me,  put  me  to  as  little  charge 
as  possible,  and  take  nothing  you  can  possibly  do 


PAUL   JONES  283 

without.     As  to  sheathing  with  copper,  it  is  totally 
out  of  the  question." 

But,  sympathising  with  Jones  for  the  many  crosses 
and  vexations  he  had  to  bear,  it  is  pleasing  to  know 
that  once  in  his  career  he  was  able  to  pronounce  the 
ship  he  commanded  one  of  the  most  "  complete 
frigates  in  France."  When  she  was  ready  for  sea, 
Franklin  worked  tooth  and  nail  to  get  his  tempestuous 
friend  afloat,  even  going  to  the  terrible  lengths  of 
advancing — unauthorised — a  small  percentage  of  their 
prize-money  to  the  penniless  sailors,  the  former  crew 
of  the  Richard,  "to  allay  discontent,  and  send  the 
men  home  in  good  humour.  But  neither  the  Commo 
dore  nor  his  crew  were  yet  in  trim  for  sea.  "  Despair 
ing  of  a  settlement  of  his  prize  claims,  and  those  of 
his  crew,  Paul  went  to  Paris  to  taste  some  of  the 
sweets  of  hard-won  fame,  for  he  was  popular  with  the 
Court  and  the  nation,"  even  to  the  extent  of  being 
cheered  at  the  opera,  "  and  Paris  was  at  this  moment 
in  the  very  height  and  fervour  of  the  American 


mania." 


CHAPTER   XIX 
1779 

:' IN  the  blaze  of  his  fame"  Paul  Jones  arrived  at 
Paris,  to  be  lionised  by  society,  congratulated  by 
royalty,  to  be  the  idol  of  women  high  and  low.  He 
was  bidden  by  the  Due  and  Duchesse  de  Chartres  to 
be  their  guest  at  the  Palais  Royal,  and  occupied 
one  of  the  splendid  apartments  of  that  historic  dwell 
ing  during  his  stay  in  Paris;  which  distinction  set 
tongues  a-wagging  at  the  unusual  honour  conferred 
upon  one  not  of  royal  blood. 

As  soon  as  news  of  the  Bonhomme  Richard's 
victory  reached  Paris,  in  October  1779,  the  Duchesse 
de  Chartres,  "  then  living  at  the  Palais  Royal,  made 
a  grand  illumination,  gave  a  great  ball,  the  invitations 
to  which  read,  '  In  Honour  of  Commodore  Paul 
Jones,'  and  sent  a  bill  of  exchange  for  a  large  sum 
to  the  Commodore."  Louis  Philippe,  who  is  the 
recorder  of  this  gossip,  tells  of  the  Commodore's  letter 
to  his  mother,  concluding  :  "  The  enemy  surrendered 
at  thirty-five  minutes  past  ten  p.m.  by  your  watch, 
which  I  consult  only  to  fix  the  moment  of  victory." 

The  son  of  this  charming  Duchesse  thought  this 
"merely  the  flattery  of  a  subtle  courtier;  "  though  his 
mother  "  accepted  it  as  the  homage  of  a  knight  like 
Bayard  or  Charles  the  Bold.  The  Duchesse  de 

Chartres  was  one  of  the  calmest  persons  I  ever  knew; 

284 


PAUL   JONES 

[From  a  wax  medallion,  made  about  the  time  of  his  death,  and  now  in  the  author*  collection. 


PAUL   JONES  285 

but  she  almost  went  wild  over  the  victory  of  Paul 
Jones  in  the  Bonhomme  Richard.  One  of  my 
proudest  memories  is  that,  when  a  little  boy,  I  enjoyed 
the  society  of  that  wonderful  man." 

But  Louis  Philippe,  then  at  the  mature  age  of  six, 
would  be  too  young  to  see  the  personal  note  in  all 
this,  or  understand  that  a  beautiful  woman  of  twenty- 
seven  might  find  more  than  a  political  pleasure  in  the 
victory  of  a  daring  sailor,  who  had  every  charm  of 
the  polished  courtier,  every  trait  of  gallantry  and 
consideration  for  her  that  her  neglectful  husband 
lacked.  There  must  be  a  mental  reservation  in  accept 
ing  the  following  statement :  "  Next  to  my  poor  unfor 
tunate  father  (Egalite),  my  mother's  affections  were 
bestowed  on  Paul  Jones,"  for  the  Due  and  Duchesse 
had  long  been  estranged,  owing  to  the  dissolute  life 
of  the  former.  Jones  was — all  unite  in  declaring— 
a  man  of  intensely  chivalrous  temperament,  and  he 
"  held  her  in  esteem  far  beyond  the  reach  of  flattery. 
Whatever  expression  he  offered  was  his  own  con 
ception  of  worship,  of  adoration,  of  that  religious,  I 
might  say  spiritual,  devoutness  which  human  beings 
usually  pay  to  the  divinities  of  their  hearts  and  their 
faith  !  In  her  he  saw  only  the  goddess  of  his  chivalric 
mythology.  In  him  she  saw,  as  she  often  said,  only 
' L'Achille  fougueux  de  V Ocean!'  I  am  sure  no  one 
else  ever  appreciated  or  comprehended  him  as  she 
did;  no  one  else  ever  worshipped  her  as  he  did.  It 
was  a  rare  and  beautiful  relation  between  such  a 
woman  and  such  a  man." 

The  recollections  of  a  child  of  six,  written  some 


286  PAUL    JONES 

thirty-five  years  afterwards,  and  translated  several 
times,  cannot  be  relied  upon  as  history,  in  fact  as 
anything  more  serious  than  unreliable  tittle-tattle. 
There  is  a  little  too  much  of  the  ultra-platonic  speci 
fied,  to  be  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  day  and 
hour  in  which  they  both  lived.  The  Duchesse  was 
a  neglected  and  openly  insulted  wife,  if  such  terms 
can  be  used  in  describing  one  of  so  high  rank,  and 
Paul  was  the  embodiment  of  chivalry,  and  thirty-two 
years  of  age.  The  manners  of  the  Court  did  not 
frown  on  consolation — if  discreetly  offered.  It  would, 
indeed,  be  interesting  to  know  to  what  extent  the 
Duchesse  permitted  the  respectful  consolations  of  the 
Commodore  to  be  offered. 

The  April  that  brought  Paul  to  Paris  proved  too 
fickle  in  its  tears  and  smiles  for  the  fete  champetre 
which  the  Duchesse  had  planned,  and  she  changed  the 
entertainment  to  a  superb  banquet  in  honour  of  Com 
modore  Jones.  As  the  evening  waned  he  asked  her 
Royal  Highness  if  she  remembered  his  promise,  "  if 
fortune  should  favour  him  he  would  lay  an  English 
frigate  at  her  feet "?  and  on  hearing  her  assent,  turned 
to  an  attendant,  who  held  the  sword  surrendered  by 
Pearson,  which  he  took  and,  dropping  gracefully  on 
one  knee,  presented  to  the  beautiful  Duchesse,  by 
whose  aid  he  had  been  able  to  achieve  this  end. 

In  a  few  well-turned  sentences  he  expressed  regret 
at  not  being  able  to  keep  his  promise  and  lay  the 
frigate  in  actual  truth  at  Her  Royal  Highness's  feet, 
but  that  being  impossible  he  had  the  honour  to 
"  surrender  to  the  loveliest  of  women "  the  sword 


PAUL    JONES  287 

surrendered  by  "one  of  the  bravest  of  men,"  which 
the  Duchesse  forthwith  accepted  with  that  charming 
affability  which  she  ever  displayed  towards  the 
Commodore. 

The  distinguished  assemblage  was  charmed  with 
this  little  comedy,  and  for  a  few  hours  there  was  no 
crumple  in  the  rose  leaf.  It  was  Paul's  hour,  and  he 
enjoyed  it  to  the  full,  with  no  thought  of  the  morrow. 
And  the  Duchesse?  Of  all  that  company  no  heart 
beat  so  high  as  hers  with  pleasure,  or  with  so  varied 
emotions.  In  her  journal  she  wrote— 

"...  Though  the  company  at  table  was  most  dis 
tinguished,  Commodore  Jones,  fresh  from  his  marvel 
lous  victories,  was  easily  the  centre  of  attraction  to 
all.  I  said  to  him  that  all  the  world  had  read  the 
accounts  of  his  exploits,  and  the  more  we  read  the 
more  we  marvelled.  And  I  asked  him  what  thought, 
what  impulse,  what  inspiration  could  have  sustained 
him  to  persevere  when  his  ship  was  on  fire  and  sinking 
under  his  feet,  and  his  men  almost  all  in  the  throes  of 
death  about  him.  To  this  he  replied,  with  a  profound 
bow  and  the  gravest  solemnity  :  '  May  it  please  Your 
Royal  Highness,  I  could  not  be  the  first  to  strike  the 
flag  that  I  had  been  the  first  to  exhibit  in  Europe; 
and,  besides,  surrender  must  have  postponed  the 
rapture  of  greeting  you  again  !  ' 

1  Then  I  could  only  reply  as  I  did,  '  Ah,  my  dear 
Commodore,  not  Bayard  or  Charles  le  Temeraire 
himself  could  have  laid  his  helmet  at  a  lady's  feet 
with  such  knightly  grace  !  " 

If  his  hard  Scotch  head  could  have  been  turned, 


288  PAUL   JONES 

Paul  did  not  lack  opportunity,  for  he  was  dined  and 
wined  by  the  highest  in  the  land,  and  was  made  the 
lion  of  the  hour  because  of  his  achievements,  and, 
from  sentiments  naively  expressed  by  the  Duchesse 
de  Chartres  :  "  People  usually  do  things  either  for 
love  or  hatred.  I  do  these  things  for  both.  I  love 
the  Americans  of  my  own  accord,  and  I  inherit  the 
hatred  my  great-grandfather  bore  to  the  English  !  " 
He  dominates  the  gossip  and  letters  of  the  moment, 
for  he  possessed  the  heart  of  a  hero — large  enough  to 
spare  a  little  bit  for  every  one  of  those  adulating 
women  who  sang  his  praises,  hung  on  his  lightest 
words,  and  hampered  his  very  footsteps  when  he 
appeared  in  public.  The  Commodore  was  something 
of  a  poet  in  his  leisure  moments,  and  there  still  are 
fragments  of  his  effusions,  no  worse,  no  better  than 
those  of  many  others;  in  fact,  warmly  praised  by 
Baron  Grimm  in  his  letters.  These  verses  were 
addressed  to  those  ladies  with  whom  he  kept  up  that 
half-amorously  allegorical  correspondence,  so  much 
in  vogue  among  the  Amintas  and  Phyllises  and  their 
swains.  We  have  none  of  his  verses  to  Aimee  de 
Telluson ;  undoubtedly  he  wooed  her  in  tenderer  ways, 
but  to  a  nymph  with  whom  he  exchanged  endless 
billets-doux,  who  hides  beneath  the  name  of  "  Delia/' 
he  wrote  a  poem  of  some  length,  which  began— 


"  When  Jove  from  high  Olympus  goes 

To   Ida,   and  the  fair  below, 
All  heav'n  laments — but  Juno  shows, 
A  jealous  and  superior  wo  : 


PAUL   JONES  289 

In  vain  to  her  all  pow'r  is  given, 

To  female  weakness  ever  dear  ; 
She  scorns  the  sovereignty  of  heav'n, 

Her  God.  her  Jove,  seems  all  to  her !  " 

It  continues  through  a  couple  of  verses  in  this  classic 
ally  mythological  strain,  ending— 

"  Thus,  when  thy  warrior,  though  no  god, 

Brings  Freedom's  standard  o'er  the  main, 
Long  absent  from  thy  blest  abode, 

Casts  anchor  in  dear  France  again; 
O  !  thou  more  heavenly  ! — far  more  kind 

Than  Juno,   as  thy  swain  than  Jove, 
With  what  heart's  transports,   raptur'd  mind 

Shall  we  approach  on  wings  of  love  !  " 

The  poetic  sailor  was  more  sparing  of  his  muse 
than  of  his  grape  and  canister,  for,  changing 
"  Cast  anchor  in  dear  France  again" 

by  a  twist  of  the  quill  to 

"  In  fair  Columbia  moors  again." 

the  poem  served  him  equally  at  opposite  ends  of  the 
globe,  and  there  is  little  likelihood  that  the  ladies  to 
whom  it  was  addressed  ever  compared  notes. 

Paul  was  besieged  with  invitations;  his  mail  varied 
from  long,  solemn  official  documents  to  those  giddy, 
heavily  scented,  three-cornered  effusions,  of  which  he 
received  more  than  his  share,  with  the  interesting 
intimation  that — 

"Madame  de  H.  begs  M.  Jones  to  pardon  the 
liberty  she  takes  in  addressing  him  without  having  the 
honour  of  his  acquaintance ;  and  requests  a  moment's 
conversation  with  him  at  her  apartments  in  the  royal 
palace  (Palais  Royal?),  or  at  the  hotel  of  the 


290  PAUL   JONES 

Duchesse  of  -  — .  She  asks  a  thousand  pardons  if 
she  should  be  the  means  of  giving  him  any  trouble 
at  the  moment  of  his  departure;  but  he  must  not  be 
astonished  that  all  are  eager  to  profit  by  the  present 
opportunity  of  seeing  him/'  Alas  !  that  there  is  no 
further  detail  of  this  willing  dame.  .  .  . 

For  so  busy  a  man  Jones  managed  to  carry  on  an 
enormous  correspondence  with  all  kinds  and  con 
ditions  of  people.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the 
lady  who  concealed  her  identity  under  the  name  of 
"  Delia  "  was  one  and  the  same  as  Aimee  de  Telusson, 
which  is  most  unlikely,  for  a  number  of  reasons.  It 
would  be  easy  to  decide  once  and  for  all  if  the  letters 
of  the  two  ladies  could  have  been  compared.  Who 
ever  she  was,  the  fair  "  Delia "  would  be  considered 
rather  a  gushing  writer  in  the  present  day  and 
generation.  She  tells  Paul — 

"  Your  letter  of  -  — ,  which  I  received  on  Sunday 
the  20th,  lacerates  my  heart,  and  increases  my  despair; 
I  kissed  with  sad  and  concentrated  grief  the  traces 
of  thy  precious  tears,  and  shed  a  flood  of  the  bitterest 
drops  that  ever  flowed  from  a  breaking  heart."  She 
describes  her  mind  as  "  plunged  in  a  chaos  of  doubt 
and  fears,"  and  vehemently  declares,  "  No !  never 
did  I  feel,  never  did  I  love  until  that  moment,  at 
once  so  dear  and  so  fatal  to  my  repose,  when  fate 
presented  you  to  my  ravished  sight :  that  moment 
fixed  my  destiny  for  ever.  Yes !  my  tender  and 
adorable  friend  !  On  you  alone  depends  that  destiny; 
you  alone  have  the  power  to  make  my  happiness  or 
misery.  Pardon  this  frank  confession,  oh  !  my  dear 


PAUL   JONES  291 

Jones;  and  be  persuaded  that  deeming  thee  incapable 
of  a  mean  action,  I  love,  esteem,  and  even  respect 
thee ;  never  otherwise  would  I  have  revealed  thus 
freely  all  thy  power  over  every  faculty  of  my  being. 
I  adore  thee,  I  again  repeat;  and  never  did  any  other 
mortal  possess  such  sway  over  my  heart — this,  my  dear 
and  only  friend,  is  my  pledge  of  faith;  I  am  thine 
and  thine  only  during  my  whole  life."  She  beseeches 
him  to  "  be  careful  of  thy  life,  and  remember  that 
mine  depends  on  it.  ...  I  incessantly  address  myself 
to  heaven  for  your  safe  arrival  in  America;  if  you  are 
satisfied  with  that  government,  you  will  continue  in 
its  service;  if  not,  resign,  and  rejoin  your  faithful 
friend;  the  whole  world  beside  may  forsake  you, 
but  her  heart  is  eternally  yours;  I  swear  it  by  that 
sacred  flame  which  will  never  be  extinguished  in  my 
breast. 

1  You  ask  how  you  can  render  me  happy ; — take 
care  of  yourself,  love  me — study  the  means  of  enabling 
us  to  pass  our  days  together,  and  never  forget  that 
my  life  is  bound  up  in  yours,  and  that  the  moment 
which  deprives  me  of  you  will  put  an  end  to  all  my 
miseries.  Your  health  is  dear — ten  thousand  times 
dearer  to  me  than  my  own;  if  you  love  me,  do  not 
neglect  it.  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  i6th, 
which  increases  my  solicitude  on  this  point;  in  the 
name  of  all  that  is  sacred  take  care  of  your  precious 
self.  Rely  on  my  heart;  it  is  yours — and  nothing  can 
operate  a  change  in  its  sentiments.  I  adore  you  for 
yourself  alone,  and  it  is  thus  that  you  should  be  loved. 
If  I  was  capable  of  thinking  otherwise,  I  would  not 


T  2 


292  PAUL   JONES 

suffer  you  to  depart  and  to  expose  your  invaluable  life. 
The  thought  of  your  danger  brings  back  all  the  weak 
ness  of  my  sex;  and  I  confess  that  my  anxiety  and 
frightful  alarms  for  the  object  of  all  my  wishes  will, 
without  a  doubt,  hasten  my  death.  The  terror  and 
solicitude  that  I  feel  for  my  lover  are  indescribable. 
Dear  Jones!  adieu;  I  am  forced  to  leave  thee;  I 
cannot  go  on.  The  Chevalier  assures  you  of  his 
respect  and  friendly  sentiments ;  he  sets  out  to-morrow 
evening,  alas  !  happier  than  his  unfortunate  sister ;  he 
will  soon  see  you.  God !  she  would  willingly  be  the 
lowest  of  your  crew." 

Jones  replies  to  Delia  from  America  in  1781,  a 
letter  in  which  details  of  a  new  ship  he  has  to  com 
mand  take  first  place,  which  is  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
as  he  says,  "  It  is  now  more  than  twelve  months  since 
I  left  France;  yet  I  have  not  received  a  single  letter 
from  thee  in  all  that  time,  except  the  one  written  in 
answer  to  my  letter  of  leave-taking.  That  one  is  a 
tender  letter,  and  does  honour  to  thy  matchless  heart ! 
I  read  often  and  always  with  transport  the  many 
charming  things  that  are  so  well  expressed  in  thy 
letters;  but  especially  the  last.  ...  I  rest,  therefore, 
sure  that  absence  will  not  diminish,  but  refine  the  pure 
and  spotless  friendship  that  binds  our  souls  together, 
and  will  ever  impress  each  to  merit  the  affection  of 
the  other.  Remember  and  believe  my  letter  at  part 
ing.  It  was  but  a  faint  picture  of  my  heart.  I  will 
find  opportunities  to  write,  and  be  everything  thou 
canst  wish,"  etc.  But  somehow  the  letter  does  not 
ring  with  that  rugged  feeling  which  brings  the  blood 


PAUL   JONES  293 

smarting  to  cheeks  pale  with  anxiety  and  longing.  It 
rather  seems  as  if  "Delia"  was  the  one  who  "held 
the  cheek,"  for  on  his  return  to  Paris,  nearly  two  years 
later,  he  received  a  note,  which  he  put  away  with  the 
remark,  "From  her  apartments  in  the  Boulevard," 
and  the  date  endorsed  on  it  in  his  systematic  hand 
writing. 

"Is  it  possible  that  you  are  then  so  near  me,  and 
that  I  am  deprived  of  the  sight  of  a  mortal  who  has 
constituted  the  misery  of  my  life  for  four  years  ?  O  ! 
most  amiable  and  most  ungrateful  of  men,  come  to 
your  best  friend,  who  burns  with  the  desire  of  seeing 
you.  You  ought  to  know  that  it  is  but  eight  days 
since  your  Delia  was  at  the  brink  of  the  grave.  Come, 
in  the  name  of  heaven." 

It  is  more  than  likely  that  Paul  went,  though  the 
gushing  "  Delia "  was  but  one  of  his  many  irons  in 
the  fire. 

The  critic  must  be  lenient.  "  Nor  is  it  possible  to 
look  on  the  tear-stains  that  blot  those  crooked  char 
acters,  traced  by  a  hand  then  trembling  with  youthful 
passion,  and  over  which  the  grave  must  long  since 
have  closed,  without  a  feeling  of  pity  and  kindness 
for  the  fair  writer,  so  devoted,  so  eloquent,  and  prob 
ably  so  unfortunate."  Was  she  married,  single,  or 
a  consolable  widow?  We  do  not  know,  though  from 
the  tone  of  her  writings  she  was  not  a  jeune  fille,  since 
none  but  those  of  the  lowest  class  could  have  been  as 
independent  as  she,  and  her  letters  show  a  woman 
of  refinement  and  education.  In  comparison  with 
those  written  by  Aimee  de  Telusson,  she  betrays  a 


294  PAUL   JONES 

much  less  controlled  temperament,  and  one  in  which 
self-repression  was  lacking.  If  "Delia"  had  been  a 
widow,  she  would  not  have  been  constantly  in  affright 
lest  her  portrait  and  letters  should  be  seen  by  some 
other  eye  than  that  for  which  they  were  intended. 
"  Delia "  had  an  income  of  eight  thousand  livres  a 
year,  and  "  alleges  her  liberality  of  disposition  as  the 
cause  of  her  narrow  fortune."  Aimee  de  Telusson  at 
this  time  lived  with  the  Marquise  de  Marsan,  as  she 
had  no  fortune  of  any  sort.  "  Delia"  repeatedly  offers 
her  lover  assistance,  influence ;  "  she  has  trinkets  and 
effects ; "  she  was  eager  to  make  a  holocaust  of  them 
all,  though  the  sacrifice  certainly  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  accepted.  The  only  link  which  might  serve 
to  connect  her  with  Aimee  is  in  the  letter  where  she 
says,  "  the  Chevalier  sets  off  to-morrow  .  .  .  happier 
than  his  unfortunate  sister,  as  he  will  soon  see  you." 
Aimee's  half-sister  was  married  to  the  Chevalier  de 
Thouvenot,  an  officer  in  the  Marine  Artillery,  but 
surely  this  is  too  thin  a  thread  to  weight  with  such 
surmises;  and  again,  her  anxious  desire  for  secrecy 
argues  fear  of  detection  from  one  to  whom  she  was 
bound  "till  death  do  them  part." 

Was  "  Delia  "  the  Comtesse  de  la  Vandhal,  one  of 
the  prettiest  young  women  in  that  magic  circle  to 
which  Paul  had  the  entree  ?  Madame  was  nothing 
loath  to  indulge  "  a  little  harmless  gallantry  on  the 
part  of  the  famous  American  Commodore,"  and  their 
flirtation  was  noted  and  reported  by  the  indefatigable 
Miss  Edes-Herbert,  supposed  to  be  the  author  of 
those  gossipy  letters  which  many  think  written  by 


CAPTAIN     RICHARD    1'KARSON 


PAUL   JONES  295 

some  journalist  of  the  day,  so  quickly  did  they  appear 
in  print.  Miss  Edes-Herbert  was  then  living  in  the 
house  of  the  Comtesse  de  la  Vandhal,  where  she  gave 
English  lessons. 

"  Since  my  last,  Paul  Jones  drank  tea  and  supped 
here.  If  I  am  in  love  with  him,  for  love  I  may  die; 
I  have  as  many  rivals  as  there  are  ladies,  but  the  most 
formidable  is  still  Lady  -  -  (the  Comtesse  de  la 
Vandhal),  who  possesses  all  his  heart.  .  .  .  They  corre 
spond,  and  their  letters  are  replete  with  elegance, 
sentiment  and  delicacy.  She  drew  his  picture  (a 
striking  likeness),  and  wrote  some  lines  under  it,  which 
are  much  admired,  and  presented  it  to  him,  who,  since 
he  received  it,  is,  he  says,  like  a  second  Narcissus,  in 
love  with  his  own  resemblance;  to  be  sure,  he  is  the 
most  agreeable  sea-wolf  one  would  wish  to  meet 
with.  .  .  .  The  king  has  given  him  a  magnificent  gold 
sword,  which,  lest  it  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  he  has  begged  leave  to  commit  it  to  the  care 
of  her  ladyship — a  piece  of  gallantry  which  is  here 
highly  applauded. " 

"We  believe  that  even  the  most  finished  French 
coquette  would  feel  rather  startled  at  the  eclat  of  an 
appearance  like  the  above  in  an  English  periodical, 
published  within  the  month." 

Paul  was  essentially  a  man  of  action,  and  let  no 
grass  grow  under  his  feet.  It  may  be  inferred  from 
the  tenor  of  the  following  letter  the  Comtesse  had,  like 
so  many  of  her  sex,  aroused  the  ready  sympathies  of 
the  Chevalier  with  that  old  but  ever  effective  plea : 
that  the  souls  of  her  lawful  mate  and  her  own  did  not 


296  PAUL   JONES 

form  that  exquisite  affinity  so  greatly  to  be  desired, 
for  he  writes  her — 

"  I  am  deeply  concerned  in  all  that  respects  your 
happiness;  I  therefore  have  been,  and  am,  much 
affected  at  some  words  that  fell  in  private  conversa 
tion  from  Miss  Edes  the  evening  I  left  Versailles.  I 
am  afraid  that  you  are  less  happy  than  I  wish,  and 
am  sure  you  deserve  to  be.  I  am  composing  a  cipher 
for  a  key  to  our  future  correspondence,  so  that  you 
will  be  able  to  write  me  very  freely,  and  without  risk." 
Then  he  begs  her  to  "  accept  the  within  lock.  I  am 
sorry  that  it  is  now  eighteen  inches  shorter  than  it  was 
three  months  ago.  If  I  could  send  you  my  heart  itself, 
or  anything  else  that  could  afford  you  pleasure,  it 
would  be  my  happiness  to  do  so."  At  these  protesta 
tions  the  lady  took  alarm,  kept  the  lock  of  hair,  the 
cipher  and  letter,  replying  that  she  was  surprised  at 
the  audacity  of  his  letter,  which  must  have  been  mis 
directed  !  Begged  him  to  be  of  service  to  her  husband, 
who  was  on  his  way  to  TOrient.  "  She  would  be 
obliged  to  the  Chevalier  to  show  him  every  civility." 

The  cautious  Scotchman — who  had  kept  a  copy  of 
his  letter,  referred  to  it,  confessing  himself  "still  at 
a  loss,  and  cannot  conceive  what  part  of  the  letter 
itself  could  have  occasioned  your  imagining  I  had 
mistaken  the  address.  As  to  the  little  packet  it 
contained,  perhaps  it  might  better  have  been  omitted  : 
if  so,  it  is  easily  destroyed.  If  my  letter  has  given 
you  even  a  moment's  uneasiness,  I  can  assure  you 
that  to  think  so  would  be  as  severe  a  punishment  as 
could  be  inflicted  on  me.  ...  I  was  greatly  honoured 


PAUL   JONES  297 

by  the  visit  of  the  Count  .  .  .  and  am  so  well  con 
vinced  of  his  superior  understanding  that  I  am  glad  to 
believe  Miss  Edes  was  mistaken.  I  admire  him  so 
much  that  I  should  esteem  myself  very  happy  indeed 
to  have  a  joint  expedition  with  him,  etc.  .  .  ."  Surely 
this  was  rubbing  it  into  her  ladyship  !  The  friend 
ship  was  allowed  to  languish  by  Jones,  and  there  is 
nothing  more  than  a  couple  of  ceremonious  letters, 
written  in  1783,  mostly  in  reference  to  the  lady's  hus 
band,  as  she  was  not  backward  in  soliciting  favours 
for  him. 

The  Chevalier  Paul  Jones,  as  he  became  after  the 
King  had  decorated  him  with  the  Order  of  Military 
Merit — "  never  before  conferred  on  any  one  who  had 
not  actually  borne  arms  under  the  commission  of 
France,"  was  easily  the  most-talked-of  man  in  Paris. 
He  had  been  given  a  magnificent  gold  sword  by  the 
King,  with  the  inscription, "  Vindicati  Marls  Ludovicus 
XVI  Remunerator  strenuo  vindici"  So,  to  put  it  poet 
ically,  Mars  and  Venus  sought  to  do  him  honour,  and 
he  basked  in  the  sunshine  of  favour.  Miss  Edes- 
Herbert,  who  had  been  "taught  to  regard  Captain 
Jones  as  a  rough,  desperate  renegade,  if  not  pirate," 
confessed  herself  "  amazed  to  meet  a  most  courteous, 
graceful  gentleman  of  slight  build,  and  rather  delicate, 
not  to  say  effeminate,  cast  of  features,  faultlessly 
dressed,  exquisitely  polite,  altogether  handsome,  and 
speaking  French  fluently,  though  with  an  indifferent 
accent,  and  many  lapses  of  grammar.  However,  his 
French  was  better  than  that  of  most  English  persons 
of  quality,  who  pretend  to  speak  the  language  in  the 


298  PAUL   JONES 

drawing-rooms  of  London.  For  some  reason  he  was 
quite  attentive  to  me,  and  we  danced  twice.  Natur 
ally  we  avoided  political  subjects,  though  once  he 
asked  me  if  I  had  heard  or  read  anything  about 
the  affair  of  taking  the  Earl  of  Selkirk's  plate  at 
St.  Mary's  Isle  in  the  cruise  of  the  Ranger.  I  said  I 
had,  and  he  then  told  me  that  his  relation  to  the  affair 
was  not  correctly  understood,  and  he  would  do  himself 
the  honour  to  send  to  me  copies  of  all  the  papers  in 
the  case,  in  order  that  I  might  be  able  to  form  a  right 
judgment.  And,  by  way  of  compliment,  I  suppose, 
he  added  that,  while  under  the  circumstances  that 
existed  he  was  compelled  to  be  indifferent  to  the 
estimation  in  which  Englishmen  held  him,  he  was  as 
sensitive  as  ever  to  the  sentiments  of  Englishwomen ; 
also,  that,  while  he  might  be  at  war  with  my  country 
men  as  a  nation,  he  could  never  be  anything  but  at 
peace  with  their  daughters.  Altogether  I  was  quite 
charmed  with  him.  He  was  quite  impartial  in  his 
attentions  to  the  ladies.  However,  his  preference 
for  her  ladyship,  our  gracious  hostess  (Aimee  de 
Telusson),  could  not  be  quite  hid;  it  was  not  even 
partly  veiled.  Neither,  I  must  say,  was  her  ladyship's 
reciprocity  of  it.  A  few  days  afterward  he  called 
on  my  father  to  initiate  a  scheme  for  exchanging 
the  crew  of  the  Serapis  for  American  prisoners  in 
England.  I  did  not  see  him  on  this  occasion,  but 
my  father  informed  me  that  he  was  deeply  impressed 
by  him,  and  could  not  help  seeing  in  him  genius  of 
the  first  order.  My  father  spoke  of  his  manner  as 
extremely  cold,  reserved,  and  wholly  official,  which 


PAUL    JONES  299 

was  the  exact  reverse  of  his  deportment  toward  me 
at  the  reception.  My  father  said  that  when  he  told 
Captain  Jones,  as  he  had  to,  that  our  Government  had 
not  given  him  authority  to  recognise  the  right  of  cartel 
to  the  American  insurgents,  the  Captain  replied : 
'Very  well,  sir;  but,  as  Voltaire  says,  the  future  is 
much  longer  than  the  present.' ' 

Jones  had  been  knighted  on  June  28,  1780,  and, 
with  "  his  blushing  honours  thick  upon  him,"  was 
the  hero  of  a  garden  party,  given  by  the  Comtesse 
d'Houdetot,  the  fourteenth  of  the  following  month, 
at  her  chateau  of  Montmorency.  "  Though  there  was 
all  the  afternoon  and  evening  a  throng  of  the  noblesse 
and  persons  of  quality  in  all  stations  of  eminence,  no 
one  gained  so  much  notice  or  was  so  sought  after 
for  introductions  as  the  American  Commodore,  Paul 
Jones,  now  titled  '  Monsieur  le  Chevalier.' 

"As  on  the  occasion  of  our  previous  meeting  at 
the  Marquise  de  Marsan's,  he  was  now  especially 
polite  to  me;  so  much  so,  that  many  of  the  ladies 
rallied  me  on  what  they  were  pleased  to  term  my 
1  conquest  of  the  conqueror.'  Finally  I  ventured  to 
say  to  him  :  '  Monsieur  le  Chevalier,  you  will  not 
think  it  strange  if  I  am  not  so  cheerful  as  these  French 
ladies  are  in  paying  devotion  to  you,  because  all  these 
honours  are  in  compliment  to  your  victory  over  my 
own  people.' 

'  To  this  he  instantly  replied,  not  in  French,  which 
we  had  been  speaking,  but  in  English  :  '  My  dear 
Miss  Edes-Herbert,  I  most  fully  comprehend  and 
appreciate  your  sentiments.  And  permit  me  to  say 


800  PAUL   JONES 

also  that  had  my  adversary  on  the  occasion  you  speak 
of  been  any  but  a  countryman  of  yours,  I  would  not 
be  thought  entitled  to  so  much  credit  as  they  seem 
to  give  me  for  the  victory.  Therefore,  my  dear  lady, 
instead  of  being  sad  you  should  be  buoyant  in  the 
thought  that  it  is  only  upon  those  who  have  defeated 
Englishmen  that  such  honours  are  bestowed.  And 
beyond  doubt  the  extreme  infrequency  of  such  events 
has  much  to  do  with  the  extravagance  of  praise  the 
French  now  bestow  upon  me.' 

"While  this  conversation  was  going  on,  we  were 
seated  together  on  a  rustic  bench  apart  from  the 
throng,  and  Mile,  de  Telusson  came  to  present  the 
Commodore  to  some  other  ladies.  As  soon  as 
the  introductions  were  made  I  repeated  to  the  whole 
party  what  he  had  just  said  to  me. 

"'What  beautiful  sentiments!'  exclaimed  Mile. 
Aimee.  '  No  one  else  in  the  world  could  be  chivalric 
enough  to  entertain  them  !  But  it  is  like  him ;  and  he 
has  no  equal  among  men  ! ' 

This,  according  to  Miss  Edes,  was  said  with 
"passionate  vehemence  and  entire  disregard  of  en 
vironment  that  left  no  doubt  in  my  mind  as  to  what 
had  become  of  Aimee's  heart.  As  for  the  Chevalier, 
he  listened  with  a  half  affectionate,  half  amused  ex 
pression,  and  said  only  in  reply  that  it  was  not  in  his 
power  to  suitably  express  the  sentiments  that  such 
honours  stirred  within  him.  'And,'  he  added,  'you 
know,  ladies,  that  I  am  but  a  simple  sailor,  unaccus 
tomed  to  such  graces  as  yours." 

It  is  strange  that  two  lovers  whose  devotion  lasted 


PAUL   JONES  301 

fourteen  years  should  have  never  married;  each  was 
independent,  and  there  would  have  been  no  family 
council  to  raise  obstacles.  Is  there  truth  in  the 
whisper  that,  in  his  very  early  days,  the  Chevalier 
fell  desperately  in  love  with  some  one  with  whom 
marriage  was  out  of  the  question — and  remained 
single  for  memory's  sake  ?  Was  the  mystery  over  his 
birth  the  restraining  influence,  or  was  glory  the  mistress 
he  loved  before  any  other?  Paul  carefully  destroyed 
the  numerous  letters  received  from  Aimee  during  so 
long  a  time,  which  would  have  been  of  the  greatest 
interest,  covering,  as  they  did,  many  years  of  their 
lives,  and  but  few  of  his  to  her  survive. 

Jones  constantly  received  unsolicited  requests  from 
all  sorts  of  men,  begging  to  be  allowed  to  join  any 
expedition  he  thought  of  organising,  for  the  distinc 
tion  of  serving  under  his  banner. 

He  met  and  patched  up  a  truce  with  John  Adams 
at  one  of  those  economical  and  intellectual  suppers 
given  by  Franklin,  where  the  board  was  more  graced 
by  wit  and  learning  than  groaning  under  good  cheer, 
and  Adams,  to  some  extent,  helped  him  with  his  prize- 
money  claims.  But,  under  the  surface,  Adams  always 
disliked  the  Commodore,  and  at  this  moment  (1779) 
wrote  of  him  as  "  ambitious  and  intriguing."  These 
feelings  he  had  the  tact  to  keep  to  himself,  for  Paul 
was  much  too  popular  for  it  to  be  prudent  to  dis 
parage  him  openly.  The  substratum  of  jealousy,  the 
wounded  vanity  in  Adams's  puritanical  nature,  never 
forgave  Jones,  and  as  long  afterwards  as  1813  he 
referred  to  the  dead  man  as  "  a  foreigner  of  the  south 


302  PAUL~JONES 

arrogating  to  himself  merit  that  belongs  to  New 
England  sailors."  But  where,  one  asks,  would  the 
"  New  England  sailors "  have  been,  had  their  com 
mander  been  one  of  Adams's  inefficient  captains  on 
such  occasions  as  the  fights  with  the  Drake  and  the 
Serapis  ? 

Paul's  Parisian  stay  was  brief,  filled  to  the  last 
minute  with  innumerable  hospitalities,  and  he  returned 
to  TOrient,  missed  by  those  who  loved  him,  who  daily 
poured  their  plaints  on  to  sheets  of  stiff  white  paper, 
carefully  folded  and  sealed  with  the  hearts,  cupids 
and  other  devices  suitable  to  the  contents. 

His  chere  Aimee  wrote  on  the  28th  August,  1780 — 

"  Since  your  departure,  my  dear  Commodore,  I  have 
done  little  else  than  answer  inquiries  concerning  you 
from  your  legion  of  feminine  worshippers.  '  Is  he 
going  to  sea  again  ? '  '  Has  the  King  given  him  a 
new  command?'  'When  will  he  return  hither?'  are 
questions  constantly  addressed  to  me  by  all  the  fair 
world.  In  vain  I  expostulate  that  I  am  not  your 
gaoler !  That  you  honour  me  only  as  you  do  them, 
with  your  society  betimes,  and  regale  me  only  as  you 
do  them,  with  your  exhaustless  wit  and  graces. 

'  They  will  not  have  it  so,  but  declare  one  and  all 
that  I  am  the  chosen  one.  Only  yesterday  the 
Comtesse  de  la  Vendhal  said  to  me  :  '  Alas,  my  poor 
husband ;  he  is  so  good,  and  withal  so  dull !  What 
would  I  not  give  to  be,  as  you  are,  enshrined  in  the 
affections  of  a  heart  like  that  of  Paul  Jones;  to  know 
that  devotion  and  affection  for  me  were  cherished  in 


PAUL   JONES  303 

that  same  bosom  that  holds  the  courage  that  made  him 
conquer  in  a  battle  the  like  of  which  is  unheard  of? 
Do  not  fail,  my  dearest  Aimee,  to  plume  yourself  upon 
your  conquest.  You  are,  as  we  all  know,  the  daughter 
of  a  king.  But,  far  more  than  that,  you  are,  as  all 
equally  know,  the  beloved  of  a  hero  !  ' 

"  Now,  my  dear  Commodore,  what  can  I  say  in 
reward  of  such  compliments?  Surely  I  can  say 
nothing  that  would  be  adequate.  But  I  never  permit 
myself  to  doubt  that  what  all  say  must  be  true.  I 
could  not  doubt  it  without  despair.  Fortuneless  as 
I  am,  and  dependent  upon  the  chanty  of  a  bene 
factress  who,  I  believe,  has  taken  me  in  place  of  a 
child  of  her  own,  denied  to  her  in  the  providence  of 
God,  I  am  richly  content  so  to  be,  if  only  I  may 
trustfully  believe  that  I  have  your  affection. 

"  Her  Royal  Highness  (Duchesse  de  Chartres)  has 
told  me  since  you  went  away  that  there  is  no  doubt 
of  your  receiving  command  of  another  squadron  by 
direct  order  of  his  Majesty  and  without  interference 
of  M.  de  C-  -  or  any  other  interested  person.  She 
tells  me  H.  M.  (the  King)  has  said  you  shall  have  the 
Scraps  as  soon  as  she  is  fitted  out;  your  own  prize, 
gained  by  such  desperate  valour — by  valour  like  unto 
the  legend  of  La  Tour  d'Auvergne. 

"  Necessarily  I  hope  so.  It  will  take  you  once  more 
away  from  me,  amid  perils  no  one  can  foresee  the  end 
of;  but  all'in  pursuit  of  glory  and  in  defence  of  our 
common  cause.  For  that,  and  that  alone,  I  am  willing 
to  deny  myself  all;  even  the  rapture  of  being  with 
you  soon  again. 


304  PAUL   JONES 

"When  you  are  in  readiness  with  your  new  argosy 
to  sail  in  quest  of  another  Golden  Fleece,  may  not 
your  poor  little  Aimee  Adele  come  to  1'Orient  to  say 
'  Bon  Voyage '  ?  True,  I  cannot,  indulge  the  fancy 
that  such  a  parting  would  in  any  way  influence  your 
chivalry,  which  needs  not  reinforcement ;  but  it  would 
enable  a  poor  little  waif  who  loves  you  to  see  for 
once  her  hero  with  his  armour  on  in  all  panoply  of 
battle !  " 


CHAPTER    XX 
1779 

THE  Chevalier  Jones  was  a  man  of  unbounded 
ambition,  and  the  honours  bestowed  on  him  by  the 
King,  though  regarded  as  a  final  and  ample  reward 
by  many,  only  satisfied  a  lesser  part  of  his  complex 
nature.  There  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  he  was  a 
most  disquieting  free  lance  to  be  at  large  among  those 
who  were  actuated  by  less  disinterested  motives  than 
himself.  He  had  hoped  for  command  of  the  Serapis, 
which  had  been  sold  to  the  King  on  June  22nd  for 
240,000  livres.  He  would  have  been  glad  to  have 
La  Terpsichore,  on  which  the  Due  de  Chartres  first 
visited  America,  but  in  the  French  Navy  the  captains 
greatly  outnumbered  the  available  ships,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  content  himself  with  the  Ariel,  and  the 
mission  of  carrying  the  supplies,  collected  with  so 
much  labour  by  the  Commissioners,  to  Washington's 
army,  a  venture  promising  little  glory.  On  his  return 
to  TOrient  he  found  his  crew  mutinous  and  sullen, 
full  of  the  grievance  that  their  commander  had  neg 
lected  their  interests  while  enjoying  the  sunshine  of 
popularity.  This  was  the  consequence  of  an  intrigue 
hatched  by  Lee  and  Landais — the  men  being  but 
pawns  in  the  game — to  ruin  and  annoy  Jones.  Though 
getting  money  from  the  Commissioners  was  a  feat 

U  305 


306  PAUL   JONES 

greater  than  the  labours  of  Hercules,  Jones  blamed 
himself  severely  "  for  having  returned  from  Paris 
without  having  absolutely  insisted  on  the  previous 
payment  of  my  men." 

Landais  had  long  since  been  ordered  to  America 
for  his  court-martial,  Dr.  Franklin  advancing  money 
for  travelling  expenses.  Instead  of  obeying  orders 
he,  backed  by  Lee,  declared  that  the  Alliance  had 
been  wrongly  taken  from  him,  as  the  command  had 
come  from  Congress.  The  officers  and  crew  sent  a 
petition  to  the  plenipotentiaries  "setting  forth  their 
grievances  and  their  wishes/'  while  Landais  modestly 
expressed  a  desire  to  be  given  his  old  command. 

All  this  was  enough  to  whiten  the  remaining  hairs 
left  to  Franklin,  for  he  had  supposed  Landais  half 
way  across  the  briny  deep,  soon  to  be  in  the  hands  of 
responsible  authority;  while  his  turbulent  friend  Paul 
seemed,  for  once,  suitably  provided  with  enough  work 
to  keep  him  occupied  for  some  months. 

The  good  old  gentleman  was  so  exasperated  that 
he  wrote  a  concise  and  definite  reply  to  Landais,  in 
which  there  was  not  the  faintest  hint  of  any  tempor 
ising,  or  of  replacing  him  on  the  Alliance. 

"  No  one  ever  learned  the  opinion  I  formed  of  you 
from  inquiry  made  into  your  conduct.  I  kept  it 
entirely  to  myself.  I  have  not  even  hinted  it  in  my 
letters  to  America,  because  I  would  not  hazard  giving 
to  any  one  a  bias  to  your  prejudice.  By  communicat 
ing  a  part  of  that  opinion  privately  to  you  I  can  do  no 
harm,  for  you  may  burn  it.  I  should  not  give  you  the 
pain  of  reading  it  if  your  demand  did  not  make  it 


PAUL   JONES  307 

necessary.  I  think  you,  then,  so  imprudent,  so 
litigious  and  quarrelsome  a  man,  even  with  your  best 
friends,  that  peace  and  good  order,  and  consequently 
the  quiet  regular  subordination  so  necessary  to  suc 
cess,  are,  where  you  preside,  impossible.  These  are 
within  my  observation  and  apprehension.  Your 
military  operations  I  leave  to  more  capable  judges. 
If,  therefore,  I  had  twenty  ships  of  war  in  my  dis 
position  I  should  not  give  one  of  them  to  Captain 
Landais.  The  same  temper  which  excluded  him  from 
the  French  Marine  would  weigh  equally  with  me;  of 
course  I  shall  not  replace  him  in  the  Alliance'' 

Franklin  exhausted  his  diplomacy  to  bring  reason 
to  that  mutinous  crew,  "whom  the  power  of  France 
would  have  enabled  him  to  crush  at  once."  The 
officers  and  men  of  the  Alliance  were  naturally  indig 
nant  at  the  charge  of  having  fired  into  the  Bonhomme 
Richard.  Franklin  politely  tells  the  discontented 
ones  that,  "  if  it  came  to  be  publicly  known  that  you 
had  the  strongest  aversion  to  Captain  Landais,  who 
had  used  you  basely,  and  that  it  is  only  since  the  last 
year's  cruise,  and  the  appointment  of  Commodore 
Jones  to  the  command,  that  you  request  to  be  again 
under  your  old  captain,  I  fear  suspicions  and  reflec 
tions  may  be  thrown  upon  you  by  the  world,  as  if  this 
change  of  sentiment  may  have  arisen  from  your 
observation  during  the  cruise  that  Captain  Jones  loved 
close  fighting,  that  Captain  Landais  was  skilful  in 
keeping  out  of  harm's  way,  and  that  you  therefore 
thought  yourself  safer  with  the  latter."  He  exhorts 

them   to   take   an   old   man's   advice,    and   go   home 
u  2 


808  PAUL   JONES 

peacefully  with  their  ship.  He  might  as  well  have 
talked  to  the  winds  of  heaven;  "which  failure  proves 
that  something  beside  reason  is  at  times  necessary  in 
governing  seamen." 

The  sailors  refused  to  weigh  anchor  and  depart 
from  1'Orient  unless  they  received  six  months'  wages, 
all  their  prize  money,  and  "  until  their  legal  captain, 
Pierre  Landais,  was  restored  to  them."  The  last 
clause  being  interlined  in  Landais's  own  writing. 

Not  to  be  baffled,  Jones  posted  to  Versailles,  where 
he  obtained  an  order  for  apprehending  and  imprison 
ing  Landais  if  necessary,  and  was  promised  letters  to 
the  Commissary  of  the  Port  to  facilitate  his  departure. 
On  the  1 3th  of  June  the  mutiny  had  reached  its 
culmination.  Causing  his  appointment  to  the  Alliance 
to  be  read  on  the  deck  of  the  ship,  and  addressing 
the  assembled  crew,  Jones  demanded  that  whoever 
had  any  complaint  to  prefer  against  him  should  speak 
out.  '  There  was,"  he  says,  "  every  appearance  of 
contentment  and  subordination.  ...  I  am  certain  the 
people  love  me  and  would  readily  obey  me."  The 
proofs  of  this  affection  were  of  a  very  unusual  kind, 
for  no  sooner  had  Jones  quitted  the  ship  than  Landais 
came  on  board  and  usurped  the  command,  "  flatly 
refusing  to  relinquish  the  ship  !  " 

Losing  no  time,  Jones  sped  off  again  to  Versailles, 
where  he  was  assured  orders  had  been  sent  to  TOrient 
"  to  compel  Landais  and  his  crew  to  obedience,  or,  if 
he  attempted  to  quit  the  port,  to  fire  on  him  and,  if 
necessary,  sink  the  ship;  but  when  Jones  returned  to 
TOrient  he  found  no  orders  had  materialised.  How- 


PAUL   JONES  309 

ever,  the  authorities  of  the  port,  his  friends,  assured 
him  of  their  support,  and,  in  this  unprecedented 
situation,  he  adhered  to  his  policy  of  tolerant  forbear 
ance  when  he  learned  that  the  Alliance  had  been 
towed  from  the  road  of  1'Orient  to  Port  Louis. 

Though  no  express  from  Versailles  had  been 
received,  M.  de  Thevenard,  the  commandant,  made 
preparations  to  stop  the  Alliance,  having  sent  orders 
in  the  evening,  without  consulting  Jones,  "to  fire  on 
the  Alliance  and  sink  her  to  the  bottom,  if  they 
attempted  to  approach  and  pass  the  barrier  that  had 
been  made  across  the  entrance  of  the  port.  Had  I 
remained  silent  an  hour  longer  the  dreadful  work 
would  have  been  done,"  Paul  wrote  in  his  journal. 

At  Franklin's  request  the  Ministry  of  Marine  had 
sent  orders  that  the  Alliance  must  be  prevented  from 
sailing  at  all  hazards,  but  by  what  means  was  not 
mentioned  to  the  peaceful  Quaker,  who  received  a 
shock  on  reading  Paul's  letter,  where  he  told  Franklin 
that,  rather  than  doom  so  many  innocent  men  to  death, 
he  had  taken  upon  himself  to  cancel  the  orders  to  de 
Thevenard,  adding,  "Your  humanity  will,  I  know, 
justify  the  part  I  acted  in  preventing  a  scene  that 
would  have  rendered  me  miserable  for  the  rest  of  my 
life." 

Upheld  by  Arthur  Lee,  and  spared  just  punishment 
by  the  leniency  of  the  Commodore,  Landais  put  to  sea 
on  June  22nd.  Though  the  ship  was  laden  with  military 
stores,  of  which  Washington's  army  stood  in  urgent 
need,  Landais,  after  passing  Cape  Finisterre,  deter 
mined  to  cruise  as  far  south  as  the  Windward  Isles. 


310  PAUL   JONES 

There  was  a  stormy  scene  between  Lee  and  the  Cap 
tain,  the  former  upholding  officers  and  crew  in  their 
refusal  to  obey  Landais.  Then  occurred  a  comedy 
of  true  Gilbertian  flavour.  Lee,  being  a  doctor,  with 
degrees  from  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  ordered  a 
survey  to  be  held  upon  the  Captain,  who  was  declared 
insane ;  then,  as  ex-Commissioner  of  the  United  States, 
he  ordered  Lieutenant  Degge  to  take  command  of  the 
Alliance,  which  resumed  her  proper  course,  arriving 
at  Boston  the  2nd  of  August.  It  has  never  been  satis 
factorily  decided  to  what  the  intense  and  persistent 
enmity  Lee  displayed  towards  Paul  Jones  should  be 
attributed.  When  the  Alliance  was  fitting  out  and 
taking  aboard  her  cargo  of  military  supplies,  Lee  had 
asked  and  obtained  permission  from  Franklin,  to 
return  to  the  United  States  on  board  the  vessel.  But 
Lee  had  no  intention  of  sailing  with  Jones  in  com 
mand,  and  did  everything  to  make  matters  as  unplea 
sant  as  he  could.  During  his  four  years  as  Commis 
sioner  he  had  accumulated  a  vast  amount  of  furniture, 
household  effects,  among  other  things  two  coaches,  all 
of  which  he  insisted  should  be  stowed  away  on  the 
Alliance.  As  the  object  of  the  voyage  was  to  take  out 
supplies  for  the  army,  Jones  refused,  for,  had  he 
shipped  all  Mr.  Lee's  belongings,  there  would  have 
been  no  room  for  anything  else.  He,  however,  offered 
to  arrange  for  them  to  be  taken  on  one  of  the  merchant 
ships  going  under  convoy  of  the  Alliance,  and  was 
deaf  to  any  other  arrangement.  Consequently  Lee 
left  no  stone  unturned  to  take  the  command  away 
from  Jones,  with  the  result  related  above. 


PAUL   JONES  311 

The  social  side  of  life  furnished  the  Chevalier  with 
pleasures,  which  in  a  great  measure  counterbalanced 
the  annoyances  to  which  he  was  subjected,  and  left 
no  time  on  his  hands  in  which  to  grow  moody  or  repine 
over  the  irremediable.  He  busied  himself  over  the 
many  projects  he  had  in  view,  receiving  assurance  that 
the  Comte  de  Maurepas  and  Comte  de  Vergennes, 
whose  assistance  he  had  solicited,  would  aid  him  so 
far  as  they  were  able  to  secure  ships  for  an  expedition 
which  he  was  then  trying  to  organise. 

On  the  25th  August  he  celebrated  King  Louis's 
birthday  on  the  Ariel,  and  fired  two  royal  salutes,  and, 
on  the  2nd  of  September  gave  a  magnificent  enter 
tainment  on  the  same  ship.  It  must  be  admitted  that 
the  employment  of  taking  stores  to  America  in  the 
Ariel  was  not  up  to  Jones's  expectations,  and  he  still 
hoped  to  be  able,  through  the  interest  of  the  new 
French  Ministry,  to  obtain  the  Serapis,  as  there  were 
five  hundred  tons  of  army  stores  to  be  transported  in 
excess  of  the  tonnage  of  the  Ariel. 

It  is  an  interesting  commentary  on  the  gratefulness 
of  Republics  that  Jones  received  from  the  American 
Government  absolutely  no  promotion  or  reward  for 
his  superb  victory  over  the  Serapis,  while  Captain 
Pearson  was  knighted  by  King  George  for  the  gallant 
defence  of  his  ship.  Writing  to  the  American  agent 
Dumas,  on  September  8th,  Jones  referred  to  the  good 
fortune  of  his  late  adversary,  and  said  :  "  The  next 
time  I  meet  him  I  will  make  a  lord  of  him  !  " 

On  October  ;th  the  Ariel  sailed,  to  run  into  the  most 
terrible  storm  that  had  swept  the  coast  for  years,  in 


312  PAUL   JONES 

which  the  Ariel  lost  her  fore  and  main  masts,  "  and 
rode  waterlogged  in  the  open  ocean  to  windward  of 
the  Penmarques,  perhaps  the  most  dangerous  ledge 
of  rocks  in  the  world,  for  two  days  and  three  nights 
in  a  tempest  that  covered  the  shores  with  wrecks  and 
dead  bodies,  and  that  drove  ships  from  their  anchors 
ashore  even  in  so  sheltered  a  port  as  POrient."  They 
managed  to  get  back  to  TOrient  on  the  i2th,  but  Jones 
says  :  "  Long  as  I  have  followed  the  sea  in  all  climates 
and  at  all  seasons  I  never,  till  that  event,  conceived 
how  awful  is  the  majesty  of  tempest  or  the  unspeak 
able  horrors  of  shipwreck.3' 

The  repairs  to  the  Ariel  consumed  two  months,  as 
all  the  cargo  had  to  be  taken  out,  the  powder  dried 
and  muskets  cleaned  before  they  were  utterly  spoiled 
by  the  salt  water.  Paul  tried  again  to  get  La  Terp 
sichore,  only  to  find  himself  anticipated  by  Captain 
Beauvallon.  De  Sartine  had  been  superseded  as 
Minister  of  Marine  by  the  Marechal  de  Castries,  a 
friend  of  the  American  party,  and  Jones  wrote  imme 
diately  on  learning  of  his  appointment  to  congratulate 
him,  enclosing  "an  outline  of  a  project  for  action," 
which  he  begged  his  Excellency  to  consider :  the  gist 
of  which  was,  that  the  following  spring  Jones  should 
cruise  with  the  Alliance  and  Confederacy,  a  new  ship 
being  built  in  Boston.  On  the  i7th  December  Paul 
wrote,  bidding  farewell  to  Aimee,  as  the  nearness  of 
parting  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  future  recalled,  with 
almost  overwhelming  vividness,  the  softer  memories  of 
his  life  in  France— 

'  The  men  of  France  I  esteem,  respect  and  honour. 


PAUL   JONES  318 

They  are  brave,  generous  and  faithful.  But  the 
women  of  France  !  What  words  can  I  find  to  express 
my  homage,  my  worship,  my  devotion  !  They  have 
been  in  these  years  of  toil  and  storm  and  battle  my 
guardian  angels;  they  have  saved  me  from  despair, 
and  they  have  inspired  me  to  conquer.  Their  approv 
ing  smiles  and  tender  praise  have  been  to  me  more 
than  the  applause  of  statesmen  and  even  more  than 
the  favour  of  royalty  itself. 

"  Should  fate  decree  this  to  be  my  last  view  of 
enchanted  France  I  can  at  least  perish  somewhere  far 
away  with  the  music  of  the  voice  of  a  Frenchwoman 
soothing  me,  and  the  beauty  of  a  Frenchwoman's  face 
and  form  pictured  in  my  glazing  eyes." 

Before  sailing  on  December  i8th  the  Commodore 
gave  a  "  superb  entertainment "  on  the  Ariel,  which  did 
not  escape  description  in  detail  by  a  puritanical  con 
temporary.  "  The  ship  was  tastefully  prepared  by 
spreading  her  awnings,  so  as  to  convert  the  quarter 
deck  into  a  ball  and  banqueting  room.  A  curtain  of 
pink  silk  hung  from  the  awning  to  the  deck,  decorated 
with  alternate  mirrors  and  pictures,  some  of  which 
latter  partook  of  the  prurient  character  of  the  French 
taste  of  that  day.  Between  the  mirrors  and  pictures 
were  wreaths  of  artificial  flowers.  The  deck  was  laid 
with  carpets.  These  arrangements  were  made  under 
the  superintending  care  of  a  French  lady,  of  Jones's 
acquaintance;  while  cooks  and  waiters  from  the  shore 
made  liberal  preparations  for  the  feast.  When  all  was 
ready  at  the  appointed  hour,  Jones  despatched  three 


314  PAUL   JONES 

of  his  boats  ashore,  the  crews  of  which  were  neatly 
dressed  in  uniform  and  decorated  with  the  American 
and  French  cockades  united.  The  ship,  too,  was 
dressed  with  flags.  At  three  o'clock  the  company 
arrived,  consisting  of  many  persons  of  rank  of  both 
sexes,  splendidly  dressed. 

"Jones  received  them,  as  they  came  up  the  ship's 
side,  and  conducted  them  to  their  seats  on  the  quarter 
deck,  with  a  great  deal  of  ease,  politeness  and  good 
nature.  At  half-past  three  the  company  sat  down  to 
an  elegant  dinner,  from  which  they  did  not  rise  till 
sunset.  All  hands  were  at  quarters,  prepared,  by 
Jones's  order,  to  exhibit  a  representation  of  the  cap 
ture  of  the  Sera-pis.  At  eight  o'clock,  as  the  moon 
rose,  the  evening  being  much  the  same  as  on  that 
memorable  occasion,  a  gun  was  fired  on  the  forecastle 
as  a  signal  to  commence.  It  was  immediately  followed 
by  a  tremendous  explosion  of  great  guns,  small  arms, 
rockets  and  grenades.  The  tops,  as  in  the  action  with 
the  Serapis,  were  kept  in  a  complete  blaze.  The  scene 
was  splendid,  but  the  din  was  awful.  The  ladies, 
beside  themselves  with  terror,  begged  Jones  to  have 
mercy  on  them,  and  the  action  was  prematurely 
arrested  at  the  end  of  an  hour.  The  admiral's  band, 
which  had  been  lent  for  the  occasion,  now  struck  up  a 
lively  air  and  the  dance  began.  It  continued  with 
unabated  spirit  until  midnight,  when  the  company  was 
set  on  shore  by  the  boats,  with  the  same  regularity 
with  which  they  came  off,  except,  as  Fanning  says, 
that  some  of  them  were  '  half  seas  over.'  The  officers 
gallantly  attended  them  to  their  very  doors.'5 


CHAPTER    XXI 

1780-1783 

A  FEW  days  later,  on  the  i8th,  with  the  roar  of  that 
mimic  battle  still  echoing  in  the  air,  the  Ariel  sailed, 
the  voyage  being  without  exciting  incident  until  the 
adventure  described  in  the  memorial  for  the  King  of 
France,  which  is  written  in  the  third  person.  Through 
a  long  chase,  during  which  Jones  manoeuvred  so  that 
the  enemy  should  not  see  the  force  of  the  Ariel,  "  an 
action  finally  became  unavoidable,"  and  everything 
was  thrown  overboard  that  interfered  with  the  defence 
and  safety  of  the  ship.  In  the  afternoon  the  Ariel 
fired  now  and  then  a  light  stern-chaser  at  the  enemy 
from  the  quarter-deck,  and  continued  to  crowd  sail  as 
if  very  much  alarmed.  This  had  the  desired  effect, 
and  the  enemy  pursued  with  greater  eagerness.  Cap 
tain  Jones  did  not  suffer  the  enemy  to  come  close  up 
till  the  approach  of  night,  when,  having  well  examined 
his  force,  he  shortened  sail  to  meet  his  approach. 
When  the  two  ships  came  within  hail  of  each  other 
they  both  hoisted  English  colours.  The  person  whose 
duty  it  was  to  hoist  the  pennant  on  board  the  Ariel 
had  not  taken  care  to  make  the  other  end  of  the 
halyards  fast,  to  haul  it  down  again  to  change  the 
colours.  This  prevented  Captain  Jones  from  an 
advantageous  manoeuvre  he  had  intended,  and  obliged 

315 


316  PAUL   JONES 

him  to  let  the  enemy  range  up  along  the  lee-side  of 
the  Ariel,  where  he  saw  a  battery  lighted  for  action. 
A  conversation  now  took  place  between  the  two  ships, 
which  lasted  near  an  hour;  by  which  Captain  Jones 
learned  the  situation  of  the  enemy's  affairs  in  America. 
The  captain  of  the  enemy's  ship  said  his  name  was 
John  Pindar.  His  ship  had  been  constructed  by  the 
famous  Mr.  Peck  of  Boston,  built  at  Newbury  Port, 
owned  by  Mr.  Tracey  of  that  place,  commanded  by 
Captain  Hopkins,  the  son  of  the  late  Commodore 
Hopkins,  and  had  been  taken  and  fitted  out  at  New 
York,  and  named  the  Triumph  by  Admiral  Rodney. 
Captain  Jones  told  him  he  must  put  out  his  boat  and 
come  on  board  and  show  his  commission,  to  prove 
whether  or  not  he  really  did  belong  to  the  British 
navy.  To  this  he  made  some  excuses,  because  Cap 
tain  Jones  had  not  told  him  who  he  was,  and  his  boat, 
he  said,  was  very  leaky.  Captain  Jones  told  him  to 
consider  the  danger  of  refusing.  Captain  Pindar  said 
he  would  answer  for  twenty  guns,  and  that  himself 
and  every  one  of  his  people  had  shown  themselves 
Englishmen.  Captain  Jones  said  he  would  allow  him 
five  minutes  only  to  make  his  reflection.  This  time 
being  elapsed  Captain  Jones  backed  a  little  on  the 
weather  quarter  of  the  enemy,  ran  close  under  her 
stern,  hoisted  American  colours,  and  being  within 
short  pistol-shot  on  the  lee-beam  of  the  enemy  began 
to  engage.  It  was  past  seven  o'clock,  and  as  no  equal 
force  ever  exceeded  the  vigorous  and  regular  fire  of 
the  Ariel's  battery  and  tops,  the  action  while  it  lasted 
made  a  glorious  appearance.  The  enemy  made  a 


PAUL   JONES  817 

feeble  resistance  for  about  ten  minutes.  He  then 
struck  his  colours.  The  enemy  then  begged  for 
quarter,  and  said  half  his  men  were  killed.  The 
Ariel's  fire  ceased,  and  the  crew,  as  usual  after  a 
victory,  gave  cries  of  joy,  "to  show  themselves  Eng 
lishmen."  The  enemy  filled  their  sails,  and  got  on 
the  Ariel's  weather-bow  before  the  cries  of  joy  had 
ended  on  board  the  Ariel.  Captain  Jones,  suspecting 
the  bafce  design  of  the  enemy,  immediately  set  every 
sail  he  could  to  prevent  her  escape;  but  the  enemy 
had  so  much  advantage  in  sailing  that  the  Ariel  could 
not  keep  up,  and  they  soon  got  out  of  gun-shot.  The 
English  captain  may  be  called  a  knave,  because,  after 
he  surrendered  his  ship,  begged  for  and  obtained 
quarter,  he  basely  ran  away,  contrary  to  the  laws  of 
naval  war  and  the  practice  of  civilised  nations.  It 
must  be  remembered,  however,  that  this  ship  was  not 
one  belonging  to  the  regular  navy.  The  Triumph  is 
impartially  described  as  a  letter-of-marque  and  a 
sloop-of-war,  she  mounted  twenty  guns — twelve  or 
fourteen  nine-pounders  and  the  rest  sixes,  with  a  crew 
of  ninety-seven  men.  The  Naval  Chronicle  says  the 
Ariel  carried  "a  battery  of  twenty  twelve-pounders, 
a  crew  of  180  men,  mostly  prime  sailors,  and  com 
manded  by  the  redoubtable  Paul  Jones." 

Soon  after  this  encounter  Jones  was  called  on  to 
suppress  a  mutiny  among  the  English  part  of  the 
Ariel's  crew,  and  arrived  at  Philadelphia  on  the  i8th 
February,  1781,  with  twenty  of  the  ringleaders  in  irons. 
Paul  had  been  absent  from  America  three  years,  three 
months,  and  eighteen  days.  A  few  days  after  his 


318  PAUL   JONES 

arrival  he  turned  over  the  command  of  the  Ariel  to 
his  lieutenants,  Dale  and  Lunt,  who  took  the  ship  to 
Portsmouth.  This  ended  Jones's  active  connection 
with  the  United  States  Navy,  which  had  lasted  from 
December  7,  1775,  to  the  present  date,  during  which 
he  had  earned  for  himself  more  fame  than  all  the 
others  connected  with  the  service,  both  by  his  daring 
as  a  fighter  and  his  skill  as  a  diplomat;  and  had  made 
the  power  he  represented,  young  as  it  was,  an  import 
ant  factor  in  the  politics  of  nations.  One  of  the  first 
pieces  of  news  brought  to  Jones  was  that  Pierre 
Landais  had  been  dropped  from  the  navy,  which 
ended  any  necessity  of  a  court-martial  and  wiped 
Landais  and  his  eccentricities  off  the  calendar  of 
events  to  be  dealt  with. 

The  action  of  Lee  and  Landais  in  usurping  com 
mand  of,  and  running  away  with,  the  Alliance  had, 
by  upsetting  Jones's  plans  for  sailing,  greatly  delayed 
the  arrival  of  the  military  stores.  This  occasioned 
much  dissatisfaction,  the  matter  being  made  the  sub 
ject  of  an  inquiry  by  Congress,  Jones  and  Franklin 
eventually  being  exonerated  from  any  blame ;  and  the 
latter,  "as  an  appropriate  mark  of  the  entire  confid 
ence  of  Congress,  was  appointed  by  the  Marine  Com 
mittee  to  the  sole  management  of  maritime  affairs  in 
Europe." 

The  Board  of  Admiralty,  soon  after  his  arrival, 
called  upon  Commodore  Jones  to  answer  some  forty- 
seven  questions  relating  to  his  services  and  public 
affairs  in  that  connection,  which,  after  a  great  deal  of 
correspondence  he  did  to  their  satisfaction.  The  sub- 


PAUL   JONES  319 

jects  and  answers  are  mostly  on  naval  and  technical 
matters  and  not  interesting,  while  a  number  relate  to 
Landais  and  his  usurped  command  of  the  Alliance. 

Like  all  men  who  have  risen  to  heights  unattained 
by  the  less  successful,  Jones  was  constantly  the  prey 
of  jealousy  and  petty  malice.  Perhaps  he  was  too 
sensitive  to  public  criticism,  and  would  have  been 
happier  had  he  been  of  the  disposition  to  ignore  things 
which  were  not  of  a  pleasing  nature.  For  example, 
though  he  had  received  permission  from  Congress  to 
wear  the  decoration  bestowed  by  Louis  XVI,  he 
never  did  so  in  America  after  being  told  by  some 
ladies  at  a  dinner  that  they  had  "heard  deprecating 
comments  "  on  this,  and  that  he  used  a  title  derived 
from  a  king  though  an  officer  of  a  "free  republic." 
There  is  only  one  letter  of  Jones's  written,  while  in 
America,  in  which  he  signs  himself  the  "Chevalier 
Paul  Jones,"  though  Washington  addressed  him  by 
this  title  in  his  correspondence  of  a  certain  date. 
Taking  all  these  different  elements  into  consideration, 
one  is  not  surprised,  after  weighing  the  matter  care 
fully,  that  Paul  found  life  in  the  old  world  more  con 
genial.  But  it  must  not  be  thought  that  he  was  un- 
praised  and  unappreciated  by  the  mass  of  his  adopted 
countrymen,  and  even  Washington,  who  so  seldom 
grew  enthusiastic,  quite  unbent  in  commendation  of 
his  friend  in  the  letter  he  wrote  to  the  "  Chevalier 
Paul  Jones." 

:' Whether  our  naval  affairs  have  in  general  been 
well  or  ill  conducted  would  be  presumptuous  in  me 
to  determine.  Instances  of  bravery  and  good  conduct 


820  PAUL    JONES 

in  several  of  our  officers  have  not,  however,  been  want 
ing.  Delicacy  forbids  me  to  mention  that  particular 
instance  which  has  attracted  the  admiration  of  all  the 
world,  and  which  has  influenced  the  most  illustrious 
monarch  to  confer  a  mark  of  his  favour  which  can 
only  be  obtained  by  a  long  and  honourable  service, 
or  by  the  performance  of  some  brilliant  action." 
Washington  concludes  by  hoping  that  "  you  may  long 
enjoy  the  reputation  you  have  so  justly  acquired,"  and, 
knowing  what  we  do  of  George  Washington,  this  was, 
indeed,  high  praise. 

The  cabal  by  whom  Jones  was  disliked  still  con 
tinued  to  give  him  annoyance,  and,  shortly  after  his 
arrival  on  the  Ariel,  he  learned  that  Lee  had  been 
spreading  derogatory  stories  about  him.  Without 
waiting,  the  Commodore  challenged  Lee,  who  tried 
to  avoid  fighting  by  insinuating  that  it  was  a  matter 
of  question  whether  Jones  was  a  gentleman  and 
entitled  to  the  privileges  of  one,  demanding— 

"Who  is  he,  anyhow?  Nobody  but  the  son  of 
obscure  Scottish  peasants,  and  a  man  who  has  changed 
his  name  at  that !  What  right  can  such  a  person  claim 
to  expect  satisfaction  from  a  Virginia  gentleman  of  my 
position  and  antecedents?" 

General  Anthony  Wayne,  to  whom  this  question 
was  addressed,  intimated  that  he  was  not  there  to  go 
into  questions  of  genealogy,  quietly  adding :  "  But 
permit  me  to  suggest,  sir,  that  no  one  in  this  country 
or  before  American  people  can  possibly  reflect  credit 
upon  himself  by  trying  to  bar  Paul  Jones  from  the 
rights  of  a  gentleman.  It  makes  no  difference  who 


PAUL   JONES  321 

his  parents  may  have  been,  or  how  many  times  he 
may  have  changed  his  name,  the  American  people  will 
never  sustain  any  man  in  the  pretence  of  barring  from 
a  gentleman's  privileges  the  conqueror  of  the  Drake 
and  Serapis"  Wayne  clearly  placed  before  Lee  the 
question  of  social  standing  and  the  rights  and  position 
of  an  officer  in  the  navy,  who  had  been  knighted  for  his 
conspicuous  valour  and  daring  bravery,  and  who  was 
received  by  the  highest  society  in  every  country.  To 
refuse  the  challenge  of  Paul  Jones  would  stamp  the 
man,  who  took  such  an  action,  as  worse  than  a  coward. 
To  make  a  long  story  short,  mutual  friends  smoothed 
the  matter  over,  and  the  duel  was  heard  of  no  more. 

Robert  Morris,  always  one  of  Jones's  staunch 
friends,  advised  him  in  a  letter  to  drop  his  quarrel  with 
Lee,  saying  very  sensibly:  "  You  should,  I  think, 
accept  these  accumulated  honours  and  proofs  of  the 
public  confidence  as  most  ample  vindication  of  your 
self  from  any  wrongs  of  which  you  have  hitherto  enter 
tained  a  sense,  and  you  should  also  view  them  as 
having  placed  you  upon  a  plane  of  honour  and 
dignity  from  which  you  could  but  derogate  by  further 
meditation  of  personal  recourse  in  any  direction 
whatever." 

The  Chevalier  could  afford  to  be  magnanimous,  and, 
though  the  summer  was  not  marked  by  heroic  combat 
or  naval  victory,  he  found  that  "peace  hath  her 
victories  no  less  renowned  than  war,"  and  equally 
enjoyable.  He  and  his  officers  and  men  were  publicly 
thanked  by  Congress  on  April  i4th,  and  on  June  26th 
he  was  unanimously  elected  to  command  the  America, 


322  PAUL   JONES 

building   at    Portsmouth,   it   being   recommended   by 
some  of  his  partisans  that  Jones  should  be  raised  to 
the  rank  of  Admiral.    Mingled  with  these  glowing  and 
congratulatory  happenings,  the  old  spectre  of  unpaid 
crews  kept  stalking  grimly.     On  the  arrival  of  the 
Ariel   Colonel    Henry    Fisher,    of   the   "  Continental 
Army,"  had  loaned  him  money  to  pay  off  officers  and 
crew,  and,  on  June  26,  he  petitioned  Congress  for  an 
advance  on  the  pay  due  to  him,  of  which,  from  hia 
date   of    commission,    December    7,    1775,    until    the 
present  moment,  he  had  never  received  a  penny.    The 
amount   reached   the   total    of   £1400    $s.      He   was 
referred  to  the  Treasury  Board  without  definite  result. 
The  Chevalier  Jones  did  not  arrive  in  Portsmouth 
until  the  end  of  August,  having  visited  General  Wash 
ington  on  the  way,  and  received  personally  the  con 
gratulations  of  that  august  statesman.     Jones  had,  in 
the  February  previous,  been  authorised  by  Congress 
to  wear  the  Order  of  Military  Merit,  which  King  Louis 
bestowed    on  him   for  his  valour,   and  was  given  a 
sumptuous    entertainment    at    Philadelphia    by    the 
Chevalier   de    la    Luzerne,    the    French    Minister,   in 
honour  of  the  event.     His  reception  on  arriving  at 
Portsmouth  was  most  flattering,  and  inspired  by  that 
personal  tinge,  which  friendship  alone  can  give,  had 
all  the  sincerity  of  a  real  home-coming.     The  Ranger 
had  been  considered  by  the  people  of  Portsmouth  as 
their  ship,  and  when  Jones  "came  back  in   1781,  to 
command  the  America,  covered  with  world-wide  fame, 
decorations,  Order  of  Knighthood,  and  the  thanks  of 
Congress,   he   became   at   once   the   most   interesting 


PAUL   JONES  323 

character  in  the  place.  The  good  people,  staid  in 
their  notions  of  republican  simplicity  as  they  were, 
rejoiced  to  see  that  four  years  of  almost  marvellous 
success  had  by  no  means  spoilt  him,  but  that  he  was 
yet  the  same  plain  Paul  Jones  they  had  known  and 
liked  so  well  in  1777. 

"  The  young  folks  did  little  less  than  worship  him, 
because  his  appearance  among  them  was  always  the 
signal  for  jolly  yarns  and  interesting  accounts  of  what 
he  had  seen  in  the  great  world  beyond  the  seas. 

"  On  such  occasions,  when  surrounded  by  the  young 
ladies,  to  whom  his  stories  of  Paris  and  Versailles 
were  almost  like  fairy  tales,  his  usually  sad,  swarthy 
face  would  light  up  with  a  rich  glow  as  if  his  youth 
had  come  back  again,  and  he  would  hold  all  listeners 
as  in  a  trance." 

And,  most  undeniably,  Paul  had  nice  little  ways, 
for  "  among  the  souvenirs  he  had  brought  from  France 
and  also  from  Spain  were  rare  little  bits  of  lace  hand 
kerchiefs,  fans  of  marvellous  design,  gloves,  slippers, 
and  bewitching  little  ornaments  for  the  hair.  Most  of 
these  had  already  met  their  fate  among  the  Commo 
dore's  fair  friends  in  Philadelphia  before  he  came  to 
Portsmouth." 

The  completion  of  the  America  occupied  most  of 
his  waking  hours,  for  the  work  progressed  slowly,  and 
he  was  afraid  the  ship  would  be  seized  by  the  enemy 
or  blown  up,  as  the  island  on  which  she  was  being 
built  was  poorly  fortified  and,  with  the  exception  of 
the  guard  he  ordered,  and  the  two  six-pounders 
defending  the  landing,  quite  open  to  attack.  After 


X  2 


324  PAUL   JONES 

Jones's  arrival  a  sharp  watch  was  kept  for  prowling 
boats,  and  anything  approaching  too  close  was  warned 
off  on  penalty  of  being  fired  into  with  the  omnipresent 
six-pounders.  By  way  of  variety  in  his  troubles,  the 
America  was  too  large  to  be  launched  off  the  stocks 
where  she  was  built,  and  only  with  the  utmost  mani 
pulation  was  she  got  into  the  water  at  all.  The 
America  was  a  seventy-four  gun  ship,  extreme  length 
182^  feet,  with  a  complement  of  626  officers  and  men. 
Her  keel  had  been  laid  down  in  1777,  though  little 
had  been  done  on  her  except  "  to  get  out  and  season 
her  timbers,"  and  Jones,  who  had  been  led  to  under 
stand  that  she  was  ready  for  launching,  received  a 
disagreeable  shock  when  he  first  saw  her  at  Langdon's 
Island.  He  planned  as  figurehead  "the  Goddess  of 
Liberty  crowned  with  laurels.  The  right  arm  was 
raised  with  the  forefinger  pointing  to  heaven,  as  if 
appealing  to  that  high  tribunal  in  behalf  of  the  justice 
of  the  American  cause.  On  the  left  arm  was  a  blue 
buckler  with  thirteen  silver  stars." 

Paul  became  so  exasperated  at  the  slowness  of  the 
task  he  had  undertaken,  that  he  wrote  Lafayette  he 
had  volunteered  to  join  Washington's  army,  request 
ing  that  he  might  serve  in  the  marquis's  division ;  but 
Robert  Morris  would  not  allow  him  to  leave  Ports 
mouth,  where  he  considered  his  services  more  useful 
than  they  would  be  in  the  field.  During  his  stay  in 
Portsmouth  Paul  was  persuaded  to  address  a  public 
meeting  at  the  town  hall,  and  made  a  glowing  refer 
ence  to  the  flag  given  him  by  the  girls  of  Portsmouth 
as  "  a  pattern  new  to  the  world.  That  flag  the  Ranger 


PAUL   JONES  325 

carried  across  the  sea  and  showed  alike  to  our  French 
friends  and  our  English  enemies.  Our  French  friends 
saluted  it  with  the  cannon  of  their  grand  fleet.  Our 
English  enemies  twice  lowered  their  haughty  emblem 
to  it  ...  the  story  of  the  flag  as  made  by  the 
daughters  of  Portsmouth  has  been  written  in  letters 
of  blood  and  flame  that  can  never  be  rubbed  out  so 
long  as  Liberty  shall  be  the  watchword  of  brave  men 
and  virtuous  women."  He  told  an  anecdote  which 
greatly  pleased  his  audience,  of  a  sailor  boy,  Johnny 
Downes,  with  him  on  the  Ranger  and  Bonhomme 
Richard.  :t  Johnny,  though  seventeen  years  old,  was 
so  small  for  his  age  that  he  attracted  the  attention  of  a 
duchesse  who  was  visiting  the  ship,  who  asked  him— 

'  Why  are  you  here  ?  Such  a  child  !  You  are  not 
big  or  strong  enough  for  war.  Why  did  your  mother 
let  you  come  here?' 

'  My  mother  did  not  let  me  come  here,  madame, 
she  sent  me'  Johnny  replied ;  but  the  duchesse  was  not 
satisfied,  and  pursued  the  question. 

"  <  Why,  then,  did  she  send  such  a  little  and  delicate 
boy?' 

'  Because,  madame,  she  had  no  other  boy  to  send. 
But,  madame/  said  Johnny,  *  I  am  much  stronger  than 
you  think.  I  can  keep  my  station  with  the  best  of 
them,  as  the  Captain  will  tell  you,  if  you  do  me  the 
honour  to  ask  him.  True,  I  am  small,  but  that  is  an 
advantage,  because  the  enemy  can't  hit  me  in  battle  as 
easily  as  they  could  if  I  was  large.' " 

The  duchesse  was  charmed,  declaring  to  the  Captain 
that  Johnny  came  of  a  race  of  Spartan  mothers,  all  of 


326  PAUL   JONES 

which  must  have  been  very  pleasant  to  Johnny's 
mother,  who  sat  in  the  audience. 

In  the  following  May,  1782,  the  birth  of  the 
Dauphin  being  announced,  Congress,  to  emphasise  the 
entente  cordiale  between  the  two  countries,  ordered 
all  commanding  officers  to  celebrate.  We  have  no 
details  of  what  the  other  commanders  did,  but  Com 
modore  Jones,  with  his  usual  lavishness,  gave  an 
entertainment  on  the  America,  supplying,  at  his  own 
expense,  the  powder  used  for  salutes  and  everything 
connected  with  the  joyful  day. 

With  the  completion  of  the  America  came  another 
crushing  disappointment.  Instead  of  sailing  in  com 
mand  he  received  a  letter  from  Robert  Morris,  dated 
September  4,  1782,  enclosing  the  resolution  by  which 
Congress  presented  the  ship  to  France,  to  replace 
the  French  ship  Magnifique,  wrecked  the  preceeding 
month  at  the  entrance  to  Boston  Harbour.  So  he  saw 
the  realisation  of  his  hopes  and  ambitions  given  to  the 
Chevalier  de  Martigne,  and  the  bitterness  of  the  dis 
appointment  was  not  lessened  by  the  fact  that  he  had 
a  crew  such  as  his  heart  loved,  officered  by  the  men 
who  had  fought  the  Bonhomme  Richard  to  victory. 
The  French  renamed  her  Le  Franklin,  and  so  she 
passed  from  the  hands  of  those  who  built  her;  and 
Paul  Jones,  at  the  end  of  seven  years'  constant,  and 
often  thankless,  service,  found  himself  without  com 
mand,  without  prize  money  or  pay,  and  without  official 
recognition  of  his  exertions  in  the  cause  to  which  he 
devoted  so  important  a  part  of  his  life. 

Unhappy  and  unoccupied  ashore,  Commodore  Jones 


PAUL   JONES  327 

volunteered  to  join  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil's  flag 
ship,  on  the  expedition  undertaken  by  France  and 
Spain  against  English  power  in  the  West  Indies. 
This  squadron,  comprising  the  ships  under  de  Vau- 
dreuil  and  the  main  French  fleet  commanded  by  the 
Comte  d'Estaing,  as  well  as  the  Spanish  fleet  under 
Admiral  Don  Solano,  was  so  late  in  arriving  at  the 
rendezvous  that  Admirals  Hood  and  Piggott  pre 
vented  the  planned  attack  on  Jamaica,  and  then  the 
news  of  peace  between  England  and  France  ended 
the  cruise.  Jones,  not  being  in  good  health,  imme 
diately  sailed  on  a  French  frigate  for  Philadelphia, 
carrying  with  him  commendatory  letters  from  de 
Vaudreuil  to  the  Chevalier  de  la  Luzerne,  in  which 
the  former  says,  after  many  complimentary  prelimin 
aries  :  "  I  shall  feel  infinitely  obliged  to  you  if  you 
can  find  a  means  of  doing  him  service.  He  is  one  of 
the  bravest,  ablest  and  most  honourable  of  men." 

But  all  the  hardships,  anxieties  and  vicissitudes  of 
fortune  to  which  Paul  had  been  subjected  for  so  many 
years  were  beginning  to  tell  on  that  iron  constitution. 
While  in  the  West  Indies  he  had  a  sharp  attack  of 
fever,  and  for  years  he  had  never  enjoyed  more  than 
four  hours'  sleep  at  a  time.  His  eyes,  tried  by  the 
poor  light  of  ships'  lamps  and  the  enormous  amount 
of  correspondence  he  had  carried  on,  gave  him  con 
stant  trouble,  since  he  had  a  decided  aversion  to  any 
kind  of  eye-glasses.  In  his  own  words— 

"  It  was  not  until  peace  came,  and  with  it  no  imme 
diate  prospect  of  active  service  nor  any  incentive  to 
ambition,  that  I  realised  how  prodigally  I  had  drawn 


328  PAUL   JONES 

upon  Nature's  bequest  to  me  of  an  iron  frame  and  a 
strong  constitution.  For  the  first  time  in  my  life  I 
felt  what  the  doctors  call  the  effect  of  reaction.  For 
tunately  my  affairs  were  in  a  condition  that  enabled 
me  to  rest  without  serious  inquietude  on  the  score  of 
means.  ...  I  passed  the  months  of  June,  July, 
August,  and  a  part  of  September  in  the  bracing  air  of 
the  Lehigh  Valley,  and  this  with  so  much  benefit  that, 
in  November,  I  was  able  to  undertake  a  mission  to 
France,  by  appointment  of  Congress,  as  special  and 
plenipotentiary  agent  to  adjust  and  collect  all  prize 
moneys  due  and  unpaid  in  that  country  to  American 
seamen  who  had  served  under  my  command/' 

An  interesting  sidelight  on  his  unusual  character  is 
the  shrewd  sense  he  showed  in  business  matters.  This 
trait,  from  his  early  days  in  the  merchant  service, 
induced  him  to  put  by  what  money  he  could,  which, 
by  careful  manipulation,  grew  into  a  comfortable  nest- 
egg  as  the  years  went  on.  Far  from  benefiting  by  his 
services  to  the  United  States,  his  part  in  the  war  was 
a  great  expense  to  him,  though  he  gave  freely  to  the 
cause  he  considered  so  just  and  rightful.  Congress 
acted  wisely  in  appointing  him  as  agent  to  deal  with 
the  troubled  question  of  prize-money  adjustment,  and 
his  excellent  credit  is  proved  by  his  instantly  obtaining 
the  necessary  bond  for  ,£40,000. 

As  illustrating  his  foresight  in  financial  matters,  the 
following  is  a  good  example.  While  in  America  Paul 
bought  large  quantities  of  illuminating  oil,  for  which 
there  was  always  a  great  demand  in  Europe,  and 
shipped  it  to  his  agents  in  Amsterdam,  Nantes  and 


PAUL    JONES  329 

Antwerp.  As  his  credit  was  practically  unlimited, 
he  had  to  pay  out  almost  nothing  in  actual  money,  and 
the  oil  when  sold  by  his  correspondents  brought  in  a 
profit  of  some  £7500  or  £8000.  This  sum  may  be 
exaggerated,  but  the  Chevalier  is  known  to  have 
benefited  considerably  by  this  and  other  commercial 
ventures  during  the  previous  nine  years.  If  he  had 
not  had  these  means  of  income  it  would  be  impossible 
to  say  how  he  could  have  provided  for  the  constant 
expense  of  keeping  open  house  on  shore  or  aboard 
ship,  and  for  the  Telusson  menage;  as  it  was  not  until 
1785  he  got  his  prize  money,  amounting  to  the  sum  of 
181,039  livres,  i  sou,  10  deniers. 

On  the  loth  of  November  Jones  sailed  from  Phil 
adelphia  on  the  Washington.  This  ship,  being  forced 
by  adverse  gales  to  put  into  Plymouth,  he  landed,  post 
ing  to  London,  where  the  first  person  he  met  was  his 
old  enemy,  John  Adams,  to  whom  he  delivered  the 
despatches  he  carried,  and  discussed  a  commercial 
treaty  in  which  both  were  interested.  Jones  left 
London  the  next  morning,  arriving  at  Paris  on  the 
7th  of  December.  The  despatches  he  brought  for 
Franklin  were  rough  drafts  for  treaties,  concerning 
fishing  and  other  rights,  to  be  submitted  to  the  Cabinet 
in  London.  Franklin  was  anxious  to  employ  Jones 
on  this  mission,  but  the  latter  preferred  to  lose 
no  time  in  taking  up  the  adjustment  of  his  prize 
claims. 

On  the  2oth  of  December  he  was  presented  to  Louis 
XVI  in  his  role  of  Special  Agent  by  the  Marechal  de 
Castries,  Minister  of  Marine.  The  King  conferred  on 


330  PAUL   JONES 

him  the  honour  of  a  command  to  "  lunch  at  the  royal 
table,  a  distinction  that  no  naval  officer  under  the  rank 
of  Admiral  had  enjoyed  in  France  since  Louis  XIV 
similarly  entertained  Jean  Bart;  after  the  repast  the 
Commodore  enjoyed  another  honour,  one  to  which  he 
had  often  aspired  but  never  before  realised  :  that  of 
being  presented  to  the  Queen.  This  was  a  marked 
triumph  for  the  Commodore,  because  while  the  war 
was  in  progress,  notwithstanding  the  persuasions  of 
many  of  his  friends  including  even  Mme.  de  Campan, 
the  Queen  had  steadily  declined  to  lend  her  counten 
ance  to  the  Commodore's  enterprises  and  ambitions." 

Just  how  much  of  this  is  authentic  one  cannot  deter 
mine,  as  the  only  mention  of  it  in  the  Commodore's 
papers  is  :  "  On  December  2oth  his  Excellency  the 
Marechal  de  Castries  graciously  presented  me  in  my 
official  capacity  to  the  King,  who  in  turn  presented  me 
informally  to  Her  Majesty  the  Queen." 

The  adjustment  of  the  prize-money  claims  was  beset 
with  untold  complications,  a  fact  which  Jones  appre 
ciated,  and  employed  no  less  an  advocate  than  the 
eloquent  Mirabeau,  with  Malesherbes  to  advise  in 
matters  involving  admiralty  jurisprudence.  The  con 
fusion  was  increased  by  the  action  of  Congress,  which 
had  several  times  during  the  war  changed  the  rules 
governing  the  distribution  of  prize  money.  The  prizes 
taken  by  the  American  and  French  ships  had  been 
sent  to,  and  sold  in,  the  ports  of  different  countries, 
some  in  Holland  and  others  in  France.  Those  sent 
to  Denmark,  against  Jones's  orders,  had  instantly  been 
returned  to  the  English  owners  at  the  request  of  the 


PAUL   JONES  331 

British  minister,  an  action  foreseen  by  Jones,  who  knew 
the  Danish  king's  sympathies  to  be  with  England. 
All  this  involved  an  almost  incomprehensible  mass  of 
legal  subtleties,  and  a  knowledge  of  International  and 
Admiralty  law  bewildering  even  to  the  clever  brains 
employed  on  the  case. 

Franklin  declared  in  exasperation,  "  If  I  once  get 
rid  of  this  business,  nothing  shall  ever  induce  me  to 
to  approach  it  again,"  and  implores  Jones  "  to  have 
mercy  on  me,  and  refrain  from  bothering  me  any  more 
with  masses  of  technical  details,  and  even  sea  lingo, 
which  is  worse  than  Greek  to  me."  In  truth  the  old 
gentleman  grew  extremely  irritable,  and  it  is  amusing 
to  see  how  the  Commodore,  knowing  that  "  even  Jove 
nods  at  flattery,"  appealed  to  the  sage's  vanity  in  the 
most  barefaced  manner.  He  concludes  his  reply  to 
this  scolding  by  apologising  deferentially  for  invad 
ing  Franklin's  peace  or  "disturbing  his  tranquillity, 
impelled  to  do  so  by  no  consideration  less  flattering 
to  you  than  the  childlike  faith  and  the  artless  con 
fidence  I  have  ever  reposed  in  your  incomparable 
wisdom  and  your  unexampled  grasp  of  affairs.  .  .  ." 

The  Commodore's  mission  took  him  to  London, 
where  his  appearance  at  Lloyd's  formed  the  theme  of 
a  column  of  gossip  in  the  Cumberland  Packet  of 
November,  1786. 

"  Last  Wednesday  appeared  on  the  Underwriters' 
'Change  at  Lloyd's  no  less  a  personage  than  the  cele 
brated  Paul  Jones;  no  stranger  to  the  Cumberland 
coast  and  Whitehaven,  but  a  most  attractive  stranger 
and  object  of  much  interest  at  Lloyd's.  He  came  on 


332  PAUL   JONES 

the  most  peaceful  errand  of  listing  on  the  Boards  for 
underwriting  certain  cargoes  of  American  destination 
in  which  he  has  interest. 

"  No  one  noticed  him  until  he  had  to  sign  the 
Owners'  Register,  which  he  did  in  a  bold  round  hand. 
In  a  few  minutes  many  had  seen  it,  and  his  identity 
among  the  throng  on  the  floor  was  quickly  made  out; 
when  there  was  a  rush  about  him  almost  amounting 
to  mobbing.  All  introduced  themselves  to  him,  and 
he  received  them  in  a  most  charming  manner,  easy 
and  affable.  The  Chairman  of  the  Board  .  .  .  invited 
him  into  the  lunch-room,  by  accepting  which  he 
escaped  attentions,  which,  though  kindly  meant  and 
most  politely  accepted,  must  have  been  annoying." 

The  writer  proceeds  to  describe  Jones  :  "  His  attire 
is  of  the  most  faultless  make-up,  and  his  bearing 
martial  and  imposing  to  the  last  degree.  It  is  gossiped 
about  that  while  at  luncheon  the  chairman  remarked 
that  his  relations  with  British  commerce  had  most 
materially  changed  during  the  past  few  years.  To 
which  Captain  Jones  is  said  to  have  replied,  '  Oh  no, 
not  so  much  that,  as  it  is  a  resumption  of  most  pleasant 
relations  many  years  ago/ 

'  The  impression  he  made  on  all  who  had  the  privi 
lege  of  seeing  and  conversing  with  him  is  most  plea 
sant,  and  it  is  a  common  remark  that  it  is  much  better 
to  have  him  here  seeking  insurance  on  cargoes 
of  his  own  than  at  sea  seeking  cargoes  insured  by 
others." 

Jones  says  that  he  owed  many  of  the  pleasures  of 
his  stay  in  London  to  the  kindness  of  Captain  the 


PAUL   JONES  333 

Honourable  Samuel  Hood,  afterwards  Sir  Samuel 
Hood,  who  commanded  the  Zealous  at  the  Battle  of 
the  Nile.  The  Commodore's  connection  with  this  dis 
tinguished  naval  family  was  unusual  and  most  interest 
ing.  As  far  back  as  the  days  when  Jones  was  a  young 
merchant  captain  he  became  involved  in  some  trouble 
at  the  Island  of  Grenada  "under  circumstances  not 
at  all  discreditable  to  him."  Captain,  afterwards 
Admiral,  Lord  Hood  learned  the  facts  of  the  case, 
and  being  senior  officer  on  the  station,  interfered  in 
Captain  John  Paul's  behalf,  causing  him  to  be  released 
and  giving  his  word  as  an  officer  and  a  gentleman  that 
the  young  captain  should  appear  to  answer  the  charge 
if  necessary.  In  1779,  after  the  fight  between  the 
Serapis  and  the  Bonhomme  Richard,  Jones  found 
Midshipman  Hood,  severely  wounded,  among  the 
prisoners.  Immediately  on  arriving  at  the  Texel-  he 
turned  Hood  over  to  Sir  Joseph  Yorke,  without 
parole,  begging  him  to  convey  his  compliments  to  the 
boy's  family,  and  "  say  that  he  found  pleasure  in  the 
opportunity  to  reciprocate  an  ancient  kindness."  In 
1784-5  Jones  had  seen  a  great  deal  of  Captain  Hood, 
who  was  in  France,  and  says,  "  It  had  been  in  my 
power  to  be  serviceable  to  him  in  social  directions. 
Now  he,  with  the  courtesy  for  which  he  is  everywhere 
distinguished,  repaid  my  former  attentions,  and  to  him 
more  than  any  one  else  I  owe  the  most  enjoyable 
moments  of  my  stay  in  London.  .  .  ."  Captain  Hood 
was  ordered  to  a  ship  on  the  American  station,  and 
left  shortly  after  this,  but  his  fellow-officers  made 
life  so  agreeable  that  Jones  found  it  hard  to  tear 


334  PAUL   JONES 

himself  away.  Eventually  he  took  passage  to  France 
by  the  Ostend  lugger,  which  sailed  under  the  English 
flag.  He  commented  that,  "  It  was  the  first  time  since 
1773  that  I  had  trod  an  English  deck  with  the  King's 
colours  flying.  I  own  that  for  a  moment  the  sensation 
was  queer." 

Jones  hoped  that  France  would  employ  him  against 
the  Algerines,  as  the  United  States  was  too  poor  to 
engage  in  an  expedition  at  this  moment.  Unfortun 
ately  France  was  bankrupt,  and  could  do  nothing  in 
response  to  the  Commodore's  petition  to  the  King.  So 
prophetic  was  the  plan  of  French  rule  in  Africa,  out 
lined  in  this  document,  that  it  was  quoted  by  Louis 
Philippe  in  a  speech,  asking  for  money  to  promote 
the  Algerine  conquest,  many  years  later. 

Jones  was  urged  by  the  Frazier  Brothers,  in  whose 
charge  he  had  placed  his  Virginia  property,  to  return 
to  a  community  where  every  one  desired  so  distin 
guished  a  man  for  a  neighbour.  They  offered  to 
rebuild  his  house  and  buildings,  which  had  long  ago 
been  razed  to  the  ground.  To  this  Jones  replied  most 
politely,  but  declared  it  impossible  to  work  a  planta 
tion  to  advantage  without  slave  labour,  to  which  he 
very  strongly  objected.  His  mission,  he  explained, 
was  not  yet  completed,  and  he  hoped  to  find  employ 
ment  in  his  career  of  naval  officer. 

Leaving  for  Denmark  in  May,  1787,  he  had  gone  as 
far  as  Brussels  when  he  learned  that  two  of  the  firms 
to  which  his  goods  were  consigned  were  insolvent. 
As  this  venture  comprised  a  large  part  of  his  working 
capital,  he  instantly  took  a  swift  sailing  packet  for 


PAUL   JONES  335 

New  York,  arriving  there  some  days  before  the  slow 
merchant  ships,  and,  by  his  promptness,  saved  his 
money.  Paul  remained  in  the  United  States  until 
November.  Congress  approved  the  settlement  he  had 
made  for  prize  money,  and,  on  the  i6th  of  October, 
voted  him  a  gold  medal  which  was  to  be  made  in  Paris, 
under  the  supervision  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  who  had 
succeeded  Franklin  as  American  Minister  to  France. 
Jones  was  to  be  the  bearer  of  a  letter  to  King  Louis 
on  his  return,  and  Jefferson  was  given  full  powers  to 
act  in  the  Danish  prize  case,  with  authority  to  appoint 
any  agent  he  saw  fit.  In  spite  of  the  gold  medal, 
Jones  was  still  unpaid  for  his  services,  owing  to  the 
depleted  condition  of  the  national  exchequer.  Excep- 
ing  two  thousand  guineas  on  account,  the  remainder, 
amounting  to  £10,000,  came  to  his  heirs  fifty -six  years 
after  his  death. 

Paul  still  played  the  part  of  a  social  butterfly,  and 
fluttered  about  as  gaily  as  of  yore  among  his  many 
friends.  The  Livingstons,  blest  with  the  match 
making  instinct,  tried  to  marry  him  to  a  comely  widow, 
whose  maiden  name  had  been  Rosalie  Bloom;  but 
Paul,  with  the  sound  of  that  charming  Frenchwoman's 
voice  lingering  in  his  ears,  and  the  pressure  of  her 
miniature  in  his  heart,  desparted  fancy  free,  though 
the  lady  would  not  have  proved  obdurate  had  Paul 
willed,  for  Madame  Livingston  says— 

'  There  was  no  mistaking  the  signs  of  her  conduct 
in  his  presence.  I  frankly  own  that  though  I  had 
known  the  Chevalier  in  Philadelphia  when  there  with 
my  husband  during  the  war,  and  had  greatly  admired 


836  PAUL   JONES 

him  then,  he  was  now  an  infinitely  superior  man.  Then 
I  had  thought  him  a  genius,  as  did  everybody,  but  in 
many  respects  a  '  rough  diamond/  But  now  he  fairly 
shone  with  the  polish  of  European  courts;  his  grace, 
dignity  and  aplomb  were  easily  beyond  imitation  by 
the  most  accomplished  men  of  our  own  set,  and  he 
seemed  more  like  some  French  duke  paying  us  a  visit 
than  the  brave,  dashing  sailor,  Paul  Jones,  I  had 
known  in  Philadelphia  in  1776." 

Madame  Livingston  continues  eulogistically  :  "  His 
ways  were  the  poetry  of  grace  and  elegance,  his  table 
talk  was  to  us  a  revelation  of  the  charm  and  fascina 
tion  of  Court-life  in  the  Old  World.  His  discourses 
of  the  great,  the  royal  and  the  noble  personages  he 
had  encountered  in  his  marvellous  career,  told  some 
times  in  English  like  that  of  Bacon,  and  sometimes 
in  French  like  that  of  Fontenelle,  by  turns  delighted, 
amazed  and  mystified  us.  Alas  !  that  he  could  have 
been  with  us  but  two  short  weeks.  .  .  .  Such  chivalry 
I  never  saw  in  any  man.  We  begged  him  to  give  us 
his  own  description  of  the  miraculous  battle  that  had 
made  him  famous  in  all  the  world.  He  parried  our 
importunity  by  saying  that  too  much  had  already  been 
written  about  it,  and,  besides,  the  picture  of  it  in  his 
memory  was  too  horrible  for  portrayal  in  the  sight  of 
our  delicate  sex.  But  he  said  that  he  felt  at  liberty 
to  impress  on  us  that  he  owed  a  debt  of  gratitude  to 
his  brave  adversary,  Captain  Sir  Richard  Pearson, 
whose  martial  conduct  and  heroic  bravery  had  given 
him  the  opportunity  for  such  a  combat;  and  in  that 
view  he  considered  himself  fortunate  in  having 


PAUL   JONES  337 

encountered  so  admirable  a  foe.  And  that  was  all  we 
could  induce  him  to  say  about  it." 

Did  some  premonition  sweep  over  Paul,  that  this 
was  to  be  the  last  time  he  would  set  foot  on  the  shores 
of  the  country  for  which  he  had  performed  such  great 
service?  He  saw  once  more  those  fighting  sailors 
whom  he  loved  so  well;  one  and  all  they  had  come 
to  see  their  old  commander.  Dale,  Mayrant,  Tom 
Potter,  Fanning,  Gardner,  whose  names  recall  that 
raging  sea  fight.  Who  was  the  favourite?  He  said, 
"  It  has  been  my  fortune  to  command  many  brave  men, 
but  I  never  knew  a  man  so  exactly  after  my  own  heart 
or  so  near  the  kind  of  man  I  would  create,  if  I  could, 
as  John  Mayrant."  This  was  high  praise  from  Jones, 
whom  his  critics  accuse  of  never  commending  any  man 
serving  under  him,  forgetting  that,  in  those  rude  times, 
fulsome  praise  was  not  heaped  on  such  as  did  their 
duty,  and  did  it  bravely  because  it  was  their  duty. 

Did  Paul,  at  this  period  of  his  life,  in  his  heart  of 
hearts  ever  lose  a  little  of  the  keen  enthusiasm  for  the 
service  of  the  United  States  and  the  "  Rights  of 
Man,"  when  other  lands  honoured  him  so  unstintedly 
with  their  praise  ?  .  .  .  and  then,  there  was  the  Lady 
in  the  Case,  his  "well  beloved  Adele,"  to  whom  he 
complains— 

"  The  last  French  packet  brought  me  no  letter  from 
the  person  whose  happiness  is  dearer  to  me  than  any 
thing  else.  I  have  been  on  the  rack  of  fear  and 
apprehension,  and  am  wholly  unable  to  account  for 
your  silence;  having  received  but  one  letter  since  my 
departure  from  France,  and  that  one  written  soon  after 


338  PAUL   JONES 

I  left  there,  informing  me  of  the  sudden  death  of  our 
most  noble  friend  the  Marquise.  .  .  .  My  return  to 
Europe  approaches.  My  sentiments  are  unchanged 
and  my  impatience  can  better  be  imagined  than  ex 
pressed.  I  have  been  honoured  here  beyond  my 
expectations.  But  your  silence  makes  even  honours 
insipid." 


CHAPTER    XXII 

1783-1788 

OUT  of  touch  as  he  was  with  the  hourly  changes, 
the  gossip  and  intrigue  of  his  Paris,  Jones  came  back 
very  quietly,  wishing  to  pick  up  the  broken  links  before 
announcing  his  return.  With  this  end  in  view,  he  went 
to  the  Hotel  de  Beauvois,  where  he  was  unknown, 
sending  word  to  the  American  Minister,  Thomas 
Jefferson,  of  his  arrival,  and  Jefferson  called  on  him 
immediately.  We  know  from  his  complaints  to  Aimee 
de  Telusson  that  letters  had  been  few  and  far  between, 
and  if  those  from  her  had  never  reached  their  destina 
tion,  such  as  were  written  by  casual  correspondents 
shared  a  like  fate,  and  Jefferson's  gossip  fell  on  eager 
ears  long  strangers  to  news  of  a  world  which  held 
for  him  such  brilliant  and  tender  memories.  Aimee, 
he  learned,  had  received  the  appointment  of  Court 
reader,  translator  of  English  plays  and  periodicals, 
and  was  living  at  Versailles.  Almost  in  the  same 
breath  Jones  received  information  which  radically 
changed  his  future  career,  for  Mr.  Jefferson  told  him 
he  had  been  requested  by  Baron  Simolin,  the  Russian 
Ambassador,  to  lay  before  him  a  proposition  which 
was,  in  brief,  an  unofficial  offer  of  service  in  the 
Russian  navy. 

In  his  journal  Jones  says,  "I  was  at  first  inclined 
to  view  the  proposition  as  chimerical,  though  I  knew 


Y   2 


339 


340  PAUL   JONES 

that  the  impending  war  between  Russia  and  Turkey 
must  afford  grand  possibilities  of  naval  operations, 
because  an  indispensable  factor  in  it  would  be  the 
destruction  of  the  Turkish  navy  in  the  Euxine,  and 
the  conversion  of  that  land-locked  sea  into  a  Russian 
lake.  .  .  . 

"  On  the  other  hand,  I  knew  little  of  Russia  or  the 
Russians.  My  acquaintance  with  them  was  limited 
to  less  than  a  dozen  personages  in  Imperial  diplomatic 
service.  ...  I  knew  not  one  word  of  the  language. 
I  could  not  see  how  it  would  be  possible  to  satisfac 
torily  direct  operations  of  subordinates  in  warfare 
through  interpreters.  ...  I  had  formed  impressions 
as  to  the  genius  and  methods  of  government  in  Russia 
that  accorded  ill  with  any  conception  of  what  ought 
to  be  in  that  respect  .  .  .  these  impressions  had  been 
wholly  derived  from  reading.  I  was,  of  course,  open 
to  whatever  lessons  actual  observation  and  experience 
might  teach.  ...  I  admitted  to  him  that  it  opened  up 
a  vision  of  ambitious  hopes  and  dreams  of  glory  on  a 
grand  scale  too  powerful  and  too  vivid  to  be  lightly 
cast  aside. 

"  Mr.  Jefferson  was  complimentary  enough  to  say 
that  while  my  knowledge  of  French  would  enable  me 
to  deal  fully  with  Russians  in  high  station,  he  was 
persuaded  that  my  aptness  at  learning  foreign  tongues 
would  doubtless  soon  remove  the  objections  on  the 
score  of  the  Russian  language  itself.  He  said  he  had 
but  one  more  duty  to  discharge  in  the  premises, 
namely,  to  bring  me  personally  in  contact  with  the 
Russian  ambassador. 


PAUL   JONES 

a  wax  medallion  sent  by  Paul  Jones  to  Mrs.  Belches  iu  1 786      Reproduced  by 
permission  of  the  Edinburgh  Antiquarian  Society. 


PAUL   JONES  341 

"  Still  mystified,  however,  as  to  the  origin  of  this 
remarkable  proposal,  I  set  about  investigating  it  in 
my  own  way.  Proceeding  in  a  day  or  two  to  Ver 
sailles,  I  placed  myself  en  rapport  with  the  Court 
entourage,  and  lost  no  time  in  setting  the  wits  of  Little 
Madame  at  work  to  trace  out  the  mystery.  She  soon, 
through  the  gossip  of  the  palace,  had  the  plot 
unravelled. 

"  It  appears  from  her  revelations  that  a  year  or  more 
before  this  time,  or  shortly  after,  I  had  tendered  my 
services  to  the  King  in  the  hope  of  employment 
in  a  crusade  against  the  Algerines,  the  Empress 
Catherine  II  had  applied  by  autograph  letter  to  his 
Majesty  for  the  loan  of  a  flag-officer  of  high  rank, 
comparative  youth  and  established  capacity  to  organise 
and  command  her  forces  in  the  Black  Sea. 

"His  Majesty  had  officers  of  suitable  rank  and 
attainments  for  such  an  arduous  task;  as,  for  example, 
Kersaint,  d'Albert  de  Rions,  or  Morad  de  Galles;  but, 
as  I  learned,  they  would  not  have  viewed  the  oppor 
tunity  with  unquestioning  favour.  Besides,  his 
Majesty  from  motives  of  state  prudence,  was  not 
inclined  to  so  palpably  choose  sides  in  the  struggle 
between  the  Empress  and  the  Sultan  as  would  be 
involved  in  encouraging  or  even  allowing  a  French 
vice-admiral  or  even  contre-admiral  of  established 
repute  to  take  active  command  against  the  Turks. 
His  Majesty,  in  this  dilemma,  had  then  intimated  to 
his  ambassador  near  the  Court  of  the  Empress,  that 
my  own  services  might  possibly  be  found  available, 
and,  if  so,  commending  me  in  the  most  unqualified 


342  PAUL   JONES 

terms  to  the  consideration  of  the  Empress.  On  such 
representations  by  the  Comte  de  Segur  to  the  Empress, 
she  had  instructed  her  ambassador  at  Versailles,  the 
Baron  Simolin,  to  approach  me  on  the  topic,  and 
Simolin,  in  his  turn,  had  employed  the  good  offices 
of  Mr.  Jefferson  to  inaugurate  the  project  with  me. 
I  learned  also  that  the  Empress  had  thus  far  succeeded 
in  enlisting  only  the  services  of  the  Prince  of  Nassau- 
Siegen ;  and  this  did  not  add  to  my  favourable  impres 
sions  in  view  of  my  previous  acquaintance  with  the 
prince  in  the  affair  of  the  Indien  and  other  projects 
during  the  American  War.  I  took  precautions  to 
fortify  myself  with  the  knowledge  of  preliminary 
events  before  meeting  M.  de  Simolin." 

This  meeting,  which  took  place  at  the  house  of  the 
Chevalier  Littlepage,  ended  without  anything  definite 
being  arranged,  and  on  the  24th  of  January  Jones 
received  his  credentials  as  agent  to  Denmark,  where 
he  arrived  the  early  part  of  February.  It  was  a  hard 
and  trying  journey  at  that  time  of  year,  as  to  reach 
Copenhagen  he  had  to  go  first  to  Brussels  overland, 
then  to  the  Hague  and  Amsterdam,  to  Hamburg  by 
packet,  again  by  land  to  Liibeck,  then  by  sea  to  Copen 
hagen,  taking  over  a  month,  and  he  found  himself, 
upon  his  arrival  in  March,  very  much  out  of  health  by 
the  fatigues  of  the  journey,  narrowly  escaping  a  severe 
attack  of  fever.  But  in  a  week  or  so  he  was  himself 
again,  and  records  in  his  journal— 

"  On  my  arrival  I  paid  my  respects  to  the  Minister 
of  France.  He  received  me  with  great  kindness;  we 
went  five  days  ago  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs; 


PAUL   JONES  343 

I  was  much  flattered  with  my  reception,  and  our  con 
versation  was  long  and  very  particular  respecting 
America  and  the  new  Constitution,  of  which  I 
presented  a  copy.  He  observed  that  it  had  struck 
him  as  a  very  dangerous  power  to  make  the 
president  commander-in-chief ;  in  other  respects  it 
appeared  to  please  him  much,  as  leading  to  a  new 
and  sure  treaty  of  commerce  between  America  anH 
Denmark. " 

Being  presented  at  Court  by  the  Baron  de  la 
Houge,  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  France  to  the 
Danish  Court,  he  comments  :  "  I  had  a  very  polite  and 
distinguished  reception.  The  Queen  Dowager  con 
versed  with  me  for  some  time,  and  said  the  most  civil 
things.  Her  Majesty  has  a  dignity  of  person  and 
deportment  which  becomes  her  well,  and  which  she 
has  the  secret  to  reconcile  with  great  affability  and 
ease.  The  Princess  Royal  is  a  charming  person,  and 
the  graces  are  so  much  her  own  that  it  is  impossible 
to  see  and  converse  with  her  without  paying  her  that 
homage  which  artless  beauty  and  good  nature  will  ever 
command.  All  the  royal  family  spoke  to  me,  except 
the  King,  who  speaks  to  no  person  when  presented. 
His  Majesty  saluted  me  with  great  complaisance  at 
first,  and  as  often  afterwards  as  we  met  in  the  course 
of  the  evening.  The  Prince  Royal  is  greatly  beloved 
and  extremely  affable ;  he  asked  me  a  number  of 
pertinent  questions  respecting  America.  I  had  the 
honour  to  be  invited  to  sup  with  his  Majesty  and  the 
Royal  Family.  The  company  at  table  (consisting  of 
seventy  ladies  and  gentlemen,  including  the  Royal 


344  PAUL   JONES 

Family,  the  Ministers  of  State  and  Foreign  Ambas 
sadors)  was  very  brilliant." 

"  I  must  tell  you,"  he  writes  Lafayette,  "  that  Mr. 
Elliot  (the  same  who  niched  Dr.  Lee's  papers  at 
Berlin)  was  furious  when  he  found  my  business  at 
Copenhagen,  and  that  I  was  received  with  great  dis 
tinction  at  Court,  and  in  all  the  best  societies  in 
Denmark.  Every  time  I  was  invited  to  sup  with  the 
King,  Elliot  made  an  apology;  he  shut  himself  up  for 
more  than  a  month,  and  then  left  town.  This  occa 
sioned  much  laughter;  and  as  he  had  shunned  society 
from  the  time  of  my  arrival,  people  said  he  had  gone 
off  in  a  fright."  Jones  "hopes  that  Mr.  Jefferson  is 
satisfied  with  the  train  in  which  I  left  the  Danish  busi 
ness.  It  would  have  been  impossible  for  me  to  have 
pushed  it  any  farther,  as  I  had  not  the  full  power  to 
conclude  it  finally."  This  refers  to  his  mission,  which 
he  was  unable  to  bring  to  a  definite  conclusion,  being 
informed  through  letter  by  Count  Bernstorff,  the 
Danish  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,  that  the  King 
could  take  no  further  steps  in  the  matter  till  the  New 
Constitution  had  been  formally  adopted  by  the  United 
States. 

It  has  been  a  disputed  subject  as  to  the  reason  for 
the  King  of  Denmark  bestowing  a  pension  of  1500 
Danish  crowns  (,£75)  on  the  unsuccessful  agent  of  the 
prize  claims.  It  was  merely  a  royal  way  of  paying  a 
compliment.  "  For  the  respect  he  had  shown  to  the 
Danish  flag  while  he  commanded  in  the  North  Sea," 
was  the  official  announcement.  It  placed  Jones  in  an 
"  embarrassing  situation  " ;  but  the  fact  that  he  never 


PAUL   JONES  345 

received  a  penny  while  living,  and  only  left  a  record  in 
his  will,  so  his  heirs  might  benefit  by  the  accumulated 
£300,  frees  his  memory  from  any  complicity  in  the 
transaction. 

Since  Paul  Jones's  interview  with  Baron  de  Simolin 
at  the  Chevalier  Littlepage's,  there  had  been  a  most 
incessant  correspondence  carried  on,  in  which  the 
Baron,  the  American  Minister,  the  Russian  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  Prince  Potemkin,  Comte  de  Segur, 
who  was  supposed  to  hold  an  extraordinary  influence 
over  the  Empress,  and  a  score  of  others  figured.  It 
had  been  proposed  to  confer  on  the  Chevalier  Jones, 
on  entering  the  Russian  service,  the  grade  of  "  captain- 
commandant,  with  the  rank  of  major-general,55  which 
did  not  please  Jones,  who  stipulated  for  that  of  rear- 
admiral,  saying,  "  I  cannot  conceive  the  reason  why 
any  difficulty  should  be  made  to  my  being  admitted 
into  the  marine  of  her  Imperial  Majesty  as  rear- 
admiral,  a  rank  to  which  I  have  some  claim,  and  that 
it  should  at  the  same  time  be  proposed  to  give  me 
the  grade  of  major-general,  to  which  I  have  no  title.'5 
In  the  same  letter  to  Jefferson  he  says,  "If  Congress 
should  think  I  deserve  the  promotion  that  was  pro 
posed  when  I  was  in  America,  and  should  condescend 
to  confer  on  me  the  grade  of  rear-admiral  from  the 
day  I  took  the  Serapis  (September  23,  1779,  exactly 
nine  years  before),  I  am  persuaded  it  would  be  very 
agreeable  to  the  Empress,  who  now  deigns  to  offer  me 
equal  rank  in  her  service,  though  I  never  had  the 
honour  to  draw  my  sword  in  her  cause,  nor  to  do  any 
other  act  that  could  merit  her  Imperial  benevolence. 


346  PAUL   JONES 

.  .  .  The  mark  I  mentioned  of  the  approbation  of  that 
honourable  body  (Congress)  would  be  extremely  flat 
tering  to  me  in  the  career  I  am  now  to  pursue,  and 
would  stimulate  all  my  ambition  to  acquire  the  neces 
sary  talents  to  merit  that,  and  even  greater  favours  at 
a  future  day.  I  ask  for  nothing,  and  beg  leave  to  be 
understood  as  having  hinted  what  is  natural  to  con 
ceive,  that  the  mark  of  approbation  could  not  fail  to 
be  infinitely  serviceable  to  my  views  and  success  in 
the  country  where  I  am  going." 

Jones  would  not  have  accepted  this  command  ha'd 
Congress  objected,  but  the  country  of  his  adoption  had 
no  need  of  his  services,  in  fact,  did  not  consider  him 
in  any  way,  and  on  his  last  departure  from  America 
he  brought  a  letter  to  the  king,  in  which  they  recom 
mended  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  cruise  in  one  of 
the  French  fleets,  to  have  the  opportunity  of  study 
ing  naval  tactics  and  manoeuvring.  .  .  ,  The  flat 
tering  offer  from  the  Empress  Catherine  changed 
all  this. 

Though  Paul  Jones  had  fought  intrepidly  for  the 
"  Cause  of  Liberty  "  and  the  "  Rights  of  Man,"  there 
is  no  denying  he  went  into  the  service  of  Russia  heart 
and  soul.  "  Loving  glory  as  I  do,"  he  says  of  himself, 
:t  I  am  perhaps  too  much  attached  to  honours,  though 
personal  interest  is  an  idol  to  which  I  have  never 
bowed  the  knee."  It  was  a  radical  change  of  front 
to  go  from  the  service  of  the  newest  of  countries  into 
that  of  Imperial  Russia,  the  most  feudal,  luxurious 
and  barbaric — under  a  thin  veneer  of  French  polish 
— in  the  world.  Catherine  had  her  reputation,  her 


PAUL   JONES  347 

favourites,  and  she  was  shamelessly  open  in  what  she 
did;  boasting  herself  to  be  "as  frank  as  an  English 
man."  She  was  a  clever  women,  who  used  her  pawns 
while  they  were  useful,  and  broke  them  as  a  child 
does  an  annoying  toy  when  they  irritated.  It  is  not 
to  be  supposed  that  a  man  so  well  posted  in  the  gossip 
of  courts  as  Jones,  was  unaware  of  the  idiosyncrasies 
of  this  masterful  sovereign,  though  it  sounds  a  little 
incongruous  to  hear  such  sentiments  as  these  coming 
from  his  pen. 

"  The  unbounded  admiration  and  profound  respect 
which  I  have  long  felt  for  the  glorious  character  of  her 
Imperial  Majesty  forbids  the  idea  that  a  sovereign  so 
magnanimous  should  sanction  any  arrangement  that 
may  give  pain  at  the  outset  to  the  man  she  'deigns  to 
honour  with  her  notice,  and  who  wishes  to  'devote  him 
self  to  her  service."  The  latter  part  of  the  sentence 
somewhat  modifies  the  idea  expressed,  as  there  is  no 
doubt  so  astute  a  courtier  as  Jones  knew  every  word 
he  wrote  would  eventually  reach  the  Imperial  ears, 
and — the  mighty  lady  loved  flattery.  This  was  part 
of  the  letter  to  Jefferson,  urging  his  claims  as  a  rear- 
admiral,  declaring  himself  not  in  favour  of  a  "con 
joined  command,  which  is  hurtful  and  often  fatal  in 
military  operations.  There  is  no  military  man  who  is 
so  entirely  master  of  his  passions  as  to  keep  free  of 
jealousy  and  its  consequences  in  such  circumstances. 
Being  quite  a  stranger,  I  have  more  to  fear  from  a 
conjoined  command  than  any  other  officer  in  the 
service  of  her  Imperial  Majesty.  I  cannot  think 
why  her  Majesty  should  think  it  best  to  divide  the 


348  PAUL   JONES 

command  on  the  Black  Sea ;  and  if  the  direction  of  that 
department  be  already  confided  to  an  officer  of  suffi 
cient  ability  and  experience,  I  do  not  seek  to  interfere 
with  his  command.5' 

The  Empress  in  her  instructions  to  Baron  Krudener 
had  described  the  appointment  as  that  of  "  captain 
commandant/'  with  the  relative  rank  of  major-general, 
but  Jones  said  he  could  much  better  comprehend 
the  meaning  of  the  words  "  rear-admiral "  than  those 
used  by  the  Empress,  and,  as  they  seemed  to  mean 
substantially  the  same  thing,  he  would  prefer  the 
simpler  and  more  strictly  naval  designation  of  rear- 
admiral.  This  being  promised  by  Baron  Krudener, 
on  the  part  of  the  Empress,  the  negotiations  were 
concluded  and  Catherine  wrote  to  him  in  her  own 
hand— 

"  SIR, 

"A  courier  from  Paris  has  just  brought  from 
my  envoy  in  France,  M.  de  Simolin,  the  enclosed  letter 
to  Count  Besborodko.  As  I  believe  that  this  letter 
will  help  to  confirm  to  you  what  I  have  already  told 
you  verbally,  I  have  sent  it  and  beg  you  to  return  it, 
as  I  have  not  even  made  a  copy  of  it,  so  anxious  am 
I  that  you  should  see  it.  I  hope  that  it  will  efface 
all  doubts  from  your  mind,  and  prove  to  you  that  you 
are  to  be  connected  only  with  those  who  are  most 
favourably  disposed  towards  you.  I  have  no  doubt 
but  that  on  your  side  you  will  fully  justify  the  opinion 
which  we  have  formed  of  you,  and  apply  yourself  with 
zeal  to  support  the  reputation  and  the  name  you  have 


PAUL   JONES  349 

acquired  for  valour  and  skill  on  the  element  in  which 
you  are  to  serve. 
"Adieu. 

"  I  wish  you  happiness  and  health. 

"  CATHERINE." 

Flattering  as  this  seemed,  Jones  still  hesitated, 
though  the  letter,  sent  by  Imperial  courier  from 
St.  Petersburg,  determined  him  to  go  in  person  to  see 
the  woman  who  swayed  the  sceptre  over  the  trackless 
wastes  of  the  north. 

In  his  journal  he  said  :  "  Though  I  foresaw  many 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  my  entering  the  service  of 
Russia,  I  believed  that  I  could  not  avoid  going  to 
St.  Petersburg  to  thank  the  Empress  for  the  favour 
able  opinion  she  had  conceived  of  me.  I  transferred 
the  treaty  going  forward  at  Copenhagen  to  Paris,  to 
be  concluded  here,  and  set  out  for  St.  Petersburg  by 
Sweden. 

"  At  Gresholm  I  was  stopped  by  the  ice,  which  pre 
vented  me  crossing  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia,  and  even 
from  approaching  the  first  of  the  isles  in  the  passage. 
After  having  made  several  unsuccessful  efforts  to  get 
to  Finland  by  the  isles,  I  imagined  that  it  might  be 
practicable  to  effect  my  object  by  doubling  the  ice  to 
the  southward,  and  entering  the  Baltic  Sea. 

1  This  enterprise  was  very  daring,  and  had  never 
before  been  attempted.  But  by  the  north  the  roads 
were  impracticable,  and,  knowing  that  the  Empress 
expected  me  from  day  to  day,  I  could  not  think  of 
going  back  by  Elsineur. 


350  PAUL   JONES 

:'  I  left  Gresholm  early  one  morning  in  an  undecked 
passage-boat,  about  thirty-three  feet  in  length.  I 
made  another  boat  follow,  of  half  that  size.  This 
last  was  for  dragging  over  the  ice,  and  for  passing 
from  one  piece  of  ice  to  another  to  gain  the  coast  of 
Finland.  I  durst  not  make  my  project  known  to  the 
boatmen,  which  would  have  been  the  sure  way  of 
defeating  it.  After  endeavouring,  as  before,  to  gain 
the  first  isle,  I  made  them  steer  for  the  south,  and  we 
kept  along  the  coast  of  Sweden  all  the  day,  finding 
difficulty  enough  to  pass  between  the  ice  and  the  shore. 
Towards  night,  being  almost  opposite  Stockholm, 
pistol  in  hand,  I  forced  the  boatmen  to  enter  the  Baltic 
Sea  ancl  steer  for  the  coast.  We  ran  near  the  coast 
of  Finland.  All  night  the  wind  was  fair,  and  we 
hoped  to  land  next  day.  This  we  found  impossible. 
The  ice  did  not  permit  us  to  approach  the  shore, 
which  we  only  saw  from  a  distance.  It  was  impos 
sible  to  regain  the  Swedish  side,  the  wind  being 
high  and  directly  contrary.  I  had  nothing  left  for  it 
but  to  stand  for  the  Gulf  of  Finland.  There  was 
a  small  compass  in  the  boat,  and  I  fixed  the 
lamp  of  my  travelling  carriage  so  as  to  throw  a  light 
on  it. 

"  On  the  same  night  we  lost  the  small  boat;  but  the 
men  saved  themselves  in  the  large  one,  which  with 
difficulty  escaped  the  same  fate.  At  the  end  of  four 
days  we  landed  at  Revel,  where  our  enterprise  was 
regarded  as  a  kind  of  miracle.  Having  satisfied  the 
boatmen  for  their  services  and  their  loss,  I  gave  them 
a  good  pilot,  with  the  provisions  necessary  for  making 


PAUL   JONES 

their  homeward  voyage  when  the  weather  should 
become  more  favourable." 

He  makes  no  comment  on  the  hardships  of  this 
voyage,  and  "  arrived  at  St.  Petersburg  in  the  evening 
of  the  23rd  April,  old  style,  and  on  the  25th  had  my 
first  audience  of  the  Empress.  Her  Majesty  gave  me 
so  flattering  a  reception,  and  up  to  the  period  of  my 
departure  treated  me  with  so  much  distinction  that  I 
was  overcome  by  her  courtesies  (Je  me  laissai  seduire) 
and  put  myself  in  her  hands  without  making  any 
stipulation  for  my  personal  advantage.  I  demanded 
but  one  favour,  '  that  I  should  never  be  condemned 
unheard/ '  And  this  one  stipulation  was  totally 
ignored  on  the  first  opportunity ! 

Chivalrous  to  a  degree  in  his  dealings  with  women, 
Paul  acted  as  the  impulse  dictated,  and  failed  to  secure 
for  himself  those  lasting  benefits  gained  by  most 
of  his  contemporaries.  There  was  a  glamour  about 
"  Catherine-Slay-Tsar,"  as  Walpole  called  her,  never 
posessed  by  the  more  respectable  type  of  woman,  and 
unquestionably  her  condescension  dazzled  this  latest 
recruit  to  her  banner.  Dissipated,  bedizened  old 
woman  she  was,  but  still  Empress,  and  mistress  of  the 
art  of  flattery  to  a  degree  unsurpassed.  It  is  unlikely 
she  threw  the  handkerchief  to  the  Chevalier,  for,  had 
she  done  so,  those  to  whom  the  favour  had  not  been 
accorded  would  have  proclaimed  the  fact.  Born  in 
1729,  Catherine  was  sixty  when  Jones  came  to  her 
Court  in  1788;  had  she  been  younger  history  might 
have  been  written  differently. 

The   ever  ready   courtiers   fawned   on   him,   over- 


352  PAUL   JONES 

whelming  him  with  social  attentions,  and  after  his 
death  the  cards  of  every  celebrity,  diplomatic,  military 
or  social,  were  found  in  profusion  among  his  papers. 
"  He  was  received  with  a  distinction  that  might  have 
turned  the  soundest  head.  His  very  manner  of 
approach  had  disposed  people  to  gaze  on  the  American 
hero  as  a  wonder ;  his  door  was  besieged  with  carriages, 
and  his  table  loaded  with  invitations.  In  short,  he  was 
now  in  Russia,  and  the  man  whom,  for  the  first  time, 
the  Empress  delighted  to  honour;  the  expected  con 
queror  of  the  Turks,  and  it  might  be  a  future 
Potemkin." 

In  his  frequent  correspondence  with  Lafayette  he 
tells  him  :  "  I  was  detained  against  my  will,  a  fort 
night,  and  continually  feasted  at  Court,  and  in  the 
first  society;  the  Empress  received  me  with  a  distinc 
tion  the  most  flattering  that  perhaps  any  stranger 
can  boast  of  on  entering  the  Russian  service.  Her 
Majesty  conferred  on  me  immediately  the  grade  of 
Rear-Admiral." 

So  versatile  a  man  as  Paul  Jones  unconsciously 
assumed,  in  a  greater  or  lesser  degree,  the  colour  of 
his  surroundings.  Loyal  as  he  had  been  to  the 
interests  of  the  United  States  while  in  their  navy,  his 
present  duty  lay  to  Russia.  The  fruits  of  his  services 
in  the  former  country,  were  always,  more  or  less, 
dead-sea  apples,  and  the  future  seemed  to  promise 
tangible  honours.  About  this  time  he  expresses  the 
sentiment— 

"  I  certainly  wish  to  be  useful  to  the  country  which 
I  have  so  long  served.  I  love  the  people  and  their 


GATHER  INK    II. 


PAUL   JONES  353 

cause,  and  shall  always  rejoice  when  I  can  be  useful 
to  promote  their  happiness."  He  urges  Lafayette  to 
"  come  here,  and  pay  your  court  to  Bellona,  who  you 
are  sure  will  receive  you  as  her  favourite.  You  would 
be  charmed  with  Prince  Potemkin.  He  is  a  most 
amiable  man,  and  none  can  be  more  noble-minded. 
For  the  Empress,  fame  has  never  yet  done  her  justice. 
I  am  sure  that  no  stranger  who  has  not  known  that 
illustrious  character,  ever  conceived  how  much  her 
Majesty  is  made  to  reign  over  a  great  empire  to  make 
people  happy,  and  to  attach  grateful  and  susceptible 
minds.  Is  not  the  present  a  happy  moment  for  France 
to  declare  for  Russia?" 

Without  commenting  unkindly,  it  is  apparent  that 
one  mind,  which  might  not  have  been  considered 
"susceptible,"  was  certainly  biased  in  favour  of  the 
woman  who  was,  literally,  the  incarnation  of  despotic 
power,  tyranny,  autocracy  and  every  principle  that  he 
had  spent  years  in  combating.  "  Such  were  the  extra 
ordinary  lights  that  had  suddenly  dawned  upon  the 
former  champion  of  liberty,  and  assertor  of  the 
'  dignity  of  human  nature.' ' 


CHAPTER   XXIII 

1788-1789 

THERE  has  been  so  much  written  lately  on 
eighteenth-century  Russia,  and  no  less  about  the 
extraordinary  personality  of  its  Empress,  that  even 
the  most  "  gentle  reader  "  cannot  fail  to  be  aware  of 
the  conditions  prevailing  in  the  years  1788-9. 

As  France  under  the  Louis'  had  been  the  prey  of 
favourites,  so  Russia  was  despoiled  and  dominated 
by  the  string  of  men  whom  the  Empress  deigned  to 
notice,  and  the  sums  it  pleased  this  amorous  old  lady 
to  squander  away  upon  her  pleasures  ran  into  an 
appalling  total  in  the  many  years  during  which  she 
amused  herself.  Potemkin,  though  no  longer  official 
first  favourite,  ruled  his  mistress  with  a  rod  of  iron, 
making  himself  indispensable  by  pandering  to  her 
whims,  and  insolently  domineered  over  her  by  sheer 
force  of  his  personality  whenever  occasion  offered. 
It  pleased  him  to  be  gracious  to  Paul  Jones  on  his 
arrival  in  Russia,  and  so  good  an  impression  did  he 
make,  that  the  latter  sang  his  praises — for  a  time.  A 
letter  from  Baron  de  Simolin  to  Count  Besborodko 
alluded  to  the  subject  of  the  Chevalier  Jones, 
"whom,"  de  Simolin  says,  Potemkin  "requested  me 
to  induce  to  repair  to  his  headquarters  as  quickly  as 
possible,  that  he  might  employ  his  talents  at  the 
opening  of  the  campaign ;  and  to  assure  him  that  in 

354 


PAUL   JONES  855 

entering  the  service  he  would  do  all  that  depended 
on  him  to  make  his  situation  pleasant  and  advan 
tageous,  and  certainly  procure  for  him  occasions  in 
which  he  might  display  his  skill  and  valour."  This 
letter  was  found  in  Jones's  papers,  with  the  significant 
comment — "  Has  he  kept  his  word?" 

Potemkin,  the  product  of  an  amazing  age,  could 
not  have  had  his  being  at  another  epoch.  A  country 
where,  less  than  a  hundred  years  before,  the  heir  to 
the  throne  had  been  knouted  to  death  by  his  kingly 
father,  alone  might  be  responsible  for  the  astonish 
ing  character  history  and  memoir  present  to  us. 
Potemkin's  contemporaries,  the  Prince  de  Ligne  and 
the  Comte  de  Segur,  have  both  left  their  impressions 
of  a  personality  which  ruled  Russia  from  the  day  of 
his  ascendency  to  the  death  of  the  Empress,  who,  it  is 
said,  married  him  secretly  shortly  before  her  death. 
Had  he  been  a  man  of  continuous  purpose,  he  could 
have  changed  the  map  of  Europe,  but,  as  de  Segur 
so  eloquently  says,  "  Like  the  rapid  passage  of  those 
shining  meteors  which  astonish  us  by  their  lustre,  but 
are  as  empty  as  air,  Potemkin  began  everything,  com 
pleted  nothing,  disordered  the  finances,  disorganised 
the  army,  depopulated  his  country  and  enriched  it  with 
other  deserts.  The  fame  of  the  Empress  was  increased 
by  his  conquests.  The  admiration  they  excited  was 
for  her;  and  the  hatred  they  raised  was  for  her 
minister.  Posterity,  more  equitable,  will  perhaps 
divide  between  them  both  the  glory  of  the  successes 
and  the  severity  of  the  reproaches.  It  will  not  bestow 
on  Potemkin  the  title  of  great  man ;  but  it  will  mention 


Z  2 


356  PAUL   JONES 

him  as  an  extraordinary  person;  and,  to  draw  his 
picture  with  accuracy,  he  might  be  represented  as  a 
real  emblem,  as  the  living  image  of  the  Russian 
Empire. 

"  For,  in  fact,  he  was  colossal  like  Russia.  In  his 
mind,  as  in  that  country,  were  cultivated  districts  and 
desert  plains.  It  also  partook  of  the  Asiatic,  of  the 
European,  of  the  Tartarian  and  the  Cossack;  the 
rudeness  of  the  eleventh  century  and  the  corruption 
of  the  eighteenth ;  the  polish  of  the  arts  and  the  ignor 
ance  of  the  cloisters;  an  outside  of  civilisation  and 
many  traces  of  barbarism.  In  a  word,  if  we  might 
hazard  so  bold  a  metaphor,  even  his  two  eyes,  the 
one  open  and  the  other  closed,  reminded  us  of  the 
Euxine,  always  open,  and  the  northern  ocean,  so  long 
shut  up  by  ice." 

He  was  accompanied  on  his  travels  by  a  select 
company  which  his  associates  tersely  style  a  "  harem," 
the  husbands  of  the  ladies  so  honoured  by  the  Pasha 
being  ignored  as  completely  as  if  non-existent.  Prince 
de  Ligne  leaves  an  edifying  picture  of  Potemkin, 
"waving  one  hand  to  the  female  that  pleases  him, 
and  with  the  other  making  the  sign  of  the  Cross; 
embracing  the  feet  of  a  statue  of  the  Virgin,  or  the 
alabaster  neck  of  his  mistress  .  .  .  sober,  though  seem 
ingly  a  glutton;  gnawing  his  fingers,  or  apples  or 
turnips ;  engaged  in  wantonness  or  prayer  .  .  .  bearing 
himself  better  than  any  man,  while  he  seems  to  think 
of  nothing  but  the  most  voluptuous  baths;  not  caring 
for  cold,  though  he  appears  unable  to  exist  without 
furs;  always  in  his  shirt  without  drawers,  or  in  rich 


PAUL   JONES  857 

regimentals  embroidered  on  all  the  seams,  barefoot 
or  in  slippers  embroidered  with  spangles;  wearing 
neither  hat  nor  cap ;  it  is  thus  I  saw  him  once  in  the 
midst  of  a  musket  fire."  The  French  ambassador, 
de  Segur,  who  had  unlimited  opportunities  to  see 
Potemkin  in  all  the  parts  he  loved  to  play,  sums  him 
up- 

"  Prince  Gregory  Alexandrovitch  Potemkin,  one  of 
the  most  extraordinary  men  of  his  times ;  but  in  order 
to  have  played  so  conspicuous  a  part,  he  must  have 
been  in  Russia,  and  have  lived  in  the  reign  of 
Catherine  II.  In  any  other  country,  in  any  other 
times,  with  any  other  sovereign,  he  would  have  been 
misplaced,  and  it  was  a  singular  stroke  of  chance  that 
created  this  man  for  the  period  that  tallied  with  him 
and  brought  together  and  combined  all  the  circum 
stances  with  which  he  could  tally. " 

To  the  whim  of  this  personage  Jones  really  owed 
his  Russian  experiences.  Satiated  with  honours 
heaped  on  him  by  the  Empress  and  those  decorations 
from  foreign  Courts  with  which  he  shone  resplendent, 
Potemkin  cherished  the  ungratified  desire  of  being 
decorated  with  the  Order  of  St.  George,  the  Grand 
Ribbon  of  which  was  given,  only  after  a  victory,  to 
the  successful  commander.  Why  the  Empress  had  not 
bestowed  it  on  this  spoiled  child  of  fortune  is  one  of 
the  unexplained  oddities  of  her  character  and  the 
relationship  of  this  edifying  pair.  Catherine  had  long 
nursed  the  chimerical  hope  of  overthrowing  or  dis 
membering  the  Turkish  Empire  and  seizing  the  throne 
of  Constantinople,  on  which  she  would  have  placed 


358  PAUL   JONES 

her  grandson,  named  Constantine  in  view  of  such  a 
contingency.  Potemkin,  whose  soul  loved  turmoil 
which  might  lead  to  his  betterment,  lost  no  oppor 
tunity  of  insulting  or  annoying  the  Turks,  forcing 
them  at  last  to  take  the  initiative,  and  declare  war. 
It  was  imperative  that  the  Rusian  fleet  should  be 
commanded  by  an  able  officer,  and,  sweeping  aside 
with  his  customary  disdain  the  discontent  of  those 
who  considered  themselves  superseded,  Potemkin  set 
in  motion  the  negotiations  which  resulted  in  Paul 
Jones  entering  the  Russian  service.  Knowing  the 
corruption  of  the  Court,  and  the  jealousy  Potemkin 
had  stirred  up  and  ignored,  as  he  was  too  powerful  to 
be  harmed,  it  can  be  understood  into  what  a  hot-bed 
of  conflicting  passions  Jones  stepped,  and  one  which 
time  and  circumstance  did  not  lull.  Jealousy  and 
favouritism  he  had  experienced  in  the  United  States 
and  France,  but  "as  sunlight  unto  moonlight"  to 
what  the  Russian  vista  opened  up.  For  a  man  of  his 
straightforward,  impetuous  nature  to  have  been  able 
to  fathom  and  checkmate  the  deceit  of  those  by  whom 
he  was  surrounded,  and  understand  their  methods, 
would  have  necessitated  the  training  of  a  lifetime. 
Paul  soon  relinquished  any  idea  of  learning  the 
language,  as  Russian  was  neither  used  socially  or 
officially,  French  being  employed  everywhere,  even 
for  official  documents  and  archives. 

In  Tooke's  Life  of  Catherine  the  Great,  published 
in  London  1789,  the  author  asserts  that  there  were  a 
number  of  "  British  naval  officers  "  in  St.  Petersburg, 
soliciting  the  Empress  for  employment  in  her  navy. 


PAUL   JONES  359 

Some  of  these  "naval  officers,"  jealous  of  the  dis 
tinction  shown  Paul  Jones,  went  in  a  body  to  Rear- 
Admiral  Greig  protesting  that  they  would  not  serve 
under  Jones,  offering,  such  as  had  commissions,  to 
resign  them,  and  those  who  had  nothing  wished  to 
withdraw    their    application    for    employment.      Sir 
Samuel    Greig,  a  Scotchman  who   had  been  in  the 
Russian  navy  since  1770,  and  held  the  rank  of  Rear- 
Admiral  of  the   Baltic  Fleet,  commanded  by  Vice- 
Admiral  Kreuss,  listened  unsympathetically  to  their 
grievances,  and,  according  to  Naraschkin,  told  them 
not  to  behave  like  school-boys,  as  the   Empress,  if 
she  heard  of  this,  would  dismiss  them  instantly  from 
her   service,   and   expel   them   from   Russia  as   con 
spirators     against     her     sovereign     authority/'     But 
some  of  them,  sure  in  their  own  conceit,  "  disdained 
Greig's  advice,   and  went,   full  of  their  complaints, 
to  Count  Besborodko,  who  let  the  matter  come  to 
the   ears  of   the    Empress,   who  was   furious   at  the 
presumption." 

"  What !  "  she  exclaimed,  "  do  these  men  who  are 
beggars  of  my  bounty  presume  to  question  my  treat 
ment  of  a  man  who  is  my  invited  guest? " 

With  the  utmost  difficulty  she  was  persuaded  from 
summarily  dismissing  all  those  "naval  officers"  who 
were  in  her  employ,  and  peremptorily  refused  to  con 
sider  further  applications  from  the  others.  One  of 
those  she  retained,  Lieutenant  Edwards,  spoke  and 
wrote  Russian  fluently,  and  was  attached  to  Jones 
as  aide-de-camp  during  the  campaign,  and  spoken 
highly  of  for  his  efficiency.  In  the  journal  we  find  the 


360  PAUL   JONES 

observation  that  "  Lieutenant  Edwards  was  led  to  join 
in  the  futile  cabal  against  me,  not  by  his  own  inclina 
tion,  but  by  the  clamour  of  the  other  Englishmen 
about  him."  Tooke,  the  author  quoted  above,  was  an 
attache  of  the  British  Embassy  at  St.  Petersburg; 
for  some  unknown  reason  he  hated  Paul  Jones,  and 
this  undoubtedly  biased  all  he  wrote,  and  makes  his 
opinions  unreliable. 

Compensating  for  other  annoyances,  and  for  the  first 
time  since  his  entrance  into  public  life,  Paul  found 
himself  amply  furnished  with  money  by  his  employers, 
having  received  the  "  emoluments  of  his  rank  "  dating 
from  the  first  overtures  of  Baron  de  Simolin.  When 
he  left  St.  Petersburg  for  Cherson,  on  May  7th,  he 
had  a  purse  of  two  thousand  Austrian  ducats — about 
a  thousand  pounds — for  his  expenses  extraordinary. 
He  was  to  travel  the  distance  of  eleven  hundred  miles 
in  one  of  the  Empress's  tarantasses,  such  as  were  used 
by  the  officers  of  state,  and  fitted  with  all  portable 
luxuries.  But,  except  at  night,  the  Rear-Admiral  pre 
ferred  to  travel  on  horseback,  accomplishing  the 
journey  in  twelve  days,  which  was  not  a  bad  record 
for  hard  travelling,  averaging,  as  he  did,  some  ninety 
miles  a  day.  He  allowed  only  four  stops  of  more 
than  an  hour's  duration ;  one  to  dine  with  the  Governor 
of  Moscow  and  go  to  the  Kremlin;  then  at  Tula, 
visiting  the  armouries  and  buying  some  weapons;  the 
third  for  repairs  to  the  carriage;  and  the  last  at 
Ekaterinoslav — in  all  less  than  eighteen  hours.  The 
condition  of  the  roads  forbade  any  sleep  in  the 
tarantass,  and  his  only  compensation  for  all  this 


PAUL   JONES  861 

discomfort  was  the  unlimited  supply  of  post  horses, 
which  his  mission  allowed  him  to  command  in  the 
name  of  the  Empress,  and  so  rush  on  with  the  fatiguing 
journey. 

Unquestionably  diplomatic  though  he  was,  Jones 
found  himself  in  a  position  where  all  his  powers  of 
constraint  and  self-control  were  tested  to  the  utmost. 
One  of  the  first  confidences  he  received  from  the 
Prince  de  Nassau  was,  "  that  if  we  gain  any  advantage 
over  the  Turks,  it  was  necessary  to  exaggerate  it  to 
the  utmost;  and  that  was  the  counsel  the  Chevalier 
de  Ribas  had  given  him,  "which  bit  of  information 
opened  a  line  of  novel  thought." 

The  Russian  fleet,  manned  by  Greeks,  Genoese  and 
some  Crimean  fishermen,  was  as  yet  an  unknown 
quantity.  The  men  were  not  sailors,  and  not  more 
than  a  couple  of  hundred  had  ever  seen  the  sea. 
Whether  the  pangs  of  mal-de-mer  would  have  changed 
the  fate  of  war  one  cannot  but  surmise.  The  foreign 
officers,  English,  Dutch,  and  French  men,  alone  under 
stood  the  science  of  navigation;  the  Russians  being 
literally  "at  sea"  when  out  of  sight  of  landmarks. 
Excepting  de  Winter,  Greve  and  Fanshaw,  the  com 
manding  officers  were  Russians.  The  Rear-Admiral 
spent  but  one  evening  at  Cherson,  "but  even  this 
short  period  was  enough  to  show  me  that  I  had  entered 
on  a  delicate  and  disagreeable  service.  Rear-Admiral 
Mordwinoff,  chief  of  the  Admiralty,  did  not  affect  to 
disguise  his  displeasure  at  my  arrival ;  and  though  he 
had  orders  from  the  Prince-Marshal  to  communicate 
to  me  all  the  details  concerning  the  force  in  the  Liman 


362  PAUL   JONES 

and  to  put  me  in  possession  of  the  flag  belonging  to 
my  rank  as  Rear-Admiral,  he  spared  himself  the 
trouble  of  compliance. 

"We  set  out  early  next  morning  for  Glouboca,  the 
armament  of  the  Liman  being  at  anchor  very  near 
that  place,  in  the  roads  of  Schiroque,  between  the  bar 
of  the  Dneiper  and  the  embouchure  of  the  river  Bog. 
We  went  on  board  the   Wolodimir  before   midday, 
where    we     found     that     Brigadier     Alexiano     had 
assembled  all  the  commanders,  to  draw  them  into  a 
cabal  against  my  authority.  .  .  .  This  man  was  a  Greek, 
as  ignorant  of  seamanship  as  of  military  affairs,  who, 
under  an  exterior  and  manners  the  most  gross,  con 
cealed  infinite  cunning.    Though  a  subject  of  Turkey, 
it  was  alleged  that  he  made  war  with  the  Mussulmans 
by  attacking  their  commerce  in  the  Archipelago  on 
his  own  authority,  and  that  he  had  followed  this  means 
of   enriching  himself  up  to   the   period  that   Count 
D'Orloff  arrived  with  the  Russian  fleet.  .  .  .  Alexiano 
was  a  good  deal  offended  in  the  first  instance,  and 
afterwards  made  great  merit  with  the  Prince-Marshal 
of  the  sacrifice  which  he  affected  to  make  in  serving 
under  me.     He  said  that  if  he  withdrew,  all  the  other 
officers    would    follow    his    example.     The    Prince- 
Marshal   sent  presents  to  his  wife,   and  wrote  him 
kindly,  persuading  him  to  remain  in  the  service.    All 
the  difficulty  he  made  was  nothing  more  than  a  piece 
of  manoeuvring  to  increase  his  importance;  for,  from 
what  followed  I  know  that,  had  he  left  the  service,  it 
would  have  been  alone,  and  that  no  one  would  have 
regretted  his  absence." 


PAUL   JONES  368 

On  May  26,  1788,  Rear-Admiral  Jones  hoisted  his 
flag  on  the  Wolodimir.     He  then  inspected  the  fleet 
of   which   he   was   in   command,   which,   it   must   be 
admitted,  presented   astounding   surprises   on   closer 
acquaintance.     It  consisted,  in  part,  of  vessels  built 
to  convey  the  Empress's  carriages  when  she  made  her 
spectacular  progress  to  the  Crimea.     These,  he  was 
told  by  those  who  wished  to  be  discouraging,  were 
so  light  that  they  would  sink  if  guns  were  put  on 
board  !      Nothing  daunted,  he  ordered  what  repairs 
could  be  made  with  the  materials  at  hand.    Painting, 
fumigating  and  provisioning  were  instantly  commenced, 
Paul     borrowing     three     thousand     soldiers     from 
Suwarrow's  army,   as  the  vessels  were  insufficiently 
manned.     Unacquainted  with  the  ins  and  outs  of  the 
higher    grades   of    the    Russian    service,    Jones   was 
astounded  to  learn  that  the  sixty  gunboats,  called  the 
"  flotilla,"    commanded    by    Nassau-Siegen,    though 
technically  part  of  his  fleet,  were  in  no  way  under 
his  orders.     The  impossibilities  of  such  a  situation— 
a   fleet  being  under  two  commanders  who  were  as 
temperamentally  different  as  fire  and  water — became 
hourly  more  apparent.    Nassau  displayed  an  unremit 
ting  love  for  the  safety  of  his  well-fed  person ;  Paul 
scorned  danger  of  any  sort,  and  appealed  to  Potemkin. 
As  it  pleased  the  favourite  to  be  friendly,  he  tried 
to   temporise,    ordering    Nassau   to   hold   himself   at 
Jones's  disposal  when  the  Rear-Admiral  required  his 
services.     This  sounded  very  well,  but  if  there  was 
the  slightest  excuse  to  inconvenience  Jones,  his  old 
acquaintance  never  allowed  it  to  escape.     Nassau- 


364  PAUL   JONES 

Seigen  had  no  wish  to  expose  his  precious  self,  and 
"  durst  not  advance  five  versts  without  being  escorted 
by  three  frigates." 

To  quote  further  from  the  journal  which  Rear- 
Admiral  Jones  prepared  for  the  Empress  :  "  On  the 
29th  the  squadron  drew  up  opposite  the  first  village, 
to  the  left  of  the  Bog,  in  an  obtuse  angle,  and  thus 
commanded,  by  a  cross  fire,  the  only  passage  of  the 
Liman.  This  lies  between  two  sandbanks,  through 
which  the  Turks  must  advance  with  their  heavy 
vessels.  By  this  position  the  Rear-Admiral  covered 
Cherson  and  the  country  on  both  banks  of  the  Liman, 
made  good  the  free  passage  of  the  Bog  to  the  army 
of  the  Prince-Marshal,  and  held  the  Turks  in  check 
in  any  attempt  they  might  make  against  Kimbourn. 

"  The  Prince  of  Nassau  at  this  time  talked  a  great 
deal  of  projects  of  descents,  surprises  and  attacks, 
but  without  any  rational  plan."  There  are  gleams  of 
unintentional  humour  in  the  descriptions  of  this  war, 
where  "a  battery  having  been  raised  upon  the  Point 
of  Stanislaus,  the  Prince  of  Nassau  expressed  himself 
delighted  with  it,  as  in  case  of  necessity  he  might 
there  find  shelter."  And  "  the  Rear-Admiral  could  not 
have  retreated,  as  several  of  his  vessels  were  already 
within  a  few  inches  of  getting  aground." 

General  Suwarrow,  commander  of  Kimbourn,  made 
the  Rear-Admiral  responsible  for  the  safety  of  that 
place,  while  Brigadier  Alexiano  and  the  Prince  of 
Nassau  did  all  that  was  possible  to  make  him  dis 
trustful  of  the  means  which  he  possessed  for  attack 
or  defence. 


PAUL   JONES  365 

There  was  no  one  in  that  fleet  so  well  able  to  judge 
the  seaworthiness  of  these  ships  as  the  one  to  whom 
they  delighted  in  supplying  these  irritating  bits  of 
information.  Paul  says,  "  The  squadron  made  a  for 
midable  appearance,  but  had  little  real  strength.  The 
Wolodimir  and  the  Alexander  were  but  half  armed; 
and  both  vessels  already  within  a  few  inches  of 
touching  the  bottom,  so  shallow  is  the  Liman  for 
vessels  of  war.  .  .  .  The  Rear-Admiral  determined  to 
assemble  a  council  of  war,  in  conformity  to  the  ordin 
ance  of  Peter  the  Great.  This  council  he  opened 
by  a  speech,  the  main  theme  being  the  necessity  of 
perfect  understanding  between  the  squadron  and 
flotilla,  and  that,  uniting  heart  and  hand,  and  forget 
ting  all  personal  considerations,  they  should  deter 
mine  to  conquer,  as  the  true  duty  of  a  patriot  was  to 
be  useful  to  his  country."  What  sublimely  unconscious 
satire !  A  Scotchman  urging  patriotism  on  an 
assembly  composed  of  Poles,  Germans,  English, 
French  and  Dutch,  the  few  Russians  present  being 
united  with  the  others  by  ties  of  that  universal  self- 
interest  for  which  they  all  strove.  Jones  then  ex 
plained  the  signals  of  Pavilion,  which  had  been  trans 
lated  into  Russian  by  his  aide,  Lieutenant  Edwards, 
and  essayed,  with  the  aid  of  a  blackboard,  to  give 
them  an  idea  of  his  tactics  and  plan  of  battle.  The 
lesson  availed  little,  as  the  cabals  of  his  enemies 
blocked  what  benefit  might  have  been  derived  from 
the  council. 

"  On  the  6th  June  (old  style),  at  two  in  the  morning, 
the  Prince  of  Nassau  advanced,  as  had  been  previously 


366  PAUL   JONES 

agreed  on,  with  the  greater  part  of  the  flotilla ;  but  in 
place  of  cutting  off  the  retreat  of  the  vessels  forming 
the  enemy's  advanced  guard,  he  retired  at  daybreak 
before  a  very  inferior  force,  and  without  offering  the 
smallest  resistance  !  The  Turks  chased  him,  keeping 
up  a  cannonade,  into  the  midst  of  the  squadron,  which, 
as  had  been  arranged,  advanced  to  take  up  a  position 
to  support  him." 

"  The  Turks  were  so  encouraged  by  this  cowardly 
behaviour,  that  on  the  night  of  the  6th  June,  they 
advanced  their  flotilla  within  cannon  shot  of  our 
reserve,  which  had  been  posted  on  the  previous  night 
on  the  right  wing."  What  grins  of  contemptuous 
amusement  would  have  adorned  the  face  of  the 
Richard's  old  crew,  had  they  witnessed  the  following 
scene — 

"At  sunrise  the  Turks  made  sail;  and  Brigadier 
Alexiano  ran  upon  the  deck  of  the  Wolodimir  half 
naked,  exclaiming  like  a  frantic  man  in  French  and 
Russian  that  the  Turks  were  going  to  attack  and  board 
us,  and  that  we  would  be  blown  to  pieces  for  having 
been  so  foolish  as  to  leave  our  former  position.  He 
had,  notwithstanding,  in  the  council  of  war  given  his 
voice  in  favour  of  the  position  we  now  actually 
held.  Brigadier  Ribas,  the  captain  and  all  the  crew 
were  witnesses  of  his  extravagant  and  unjustifiable 
behaviour." 

This  engagement,  albeit  something  of  a  fiasco, 
figured  as  a  brilliant  victory  for  the  Russians,  and 
eventually  brought  Jones  the  decoration  of  Saint 
Anne  as  it  was  thanks  to  his  cool-headedness  that  the 


PAUL   JONES  367 

Turks  did  not  gain  the  day.  The  most  accomplished 
historian  has  been  unable  to  make  interesting  reading 
out  of  this  guerrilla-like  warfare,  which  consisted  of 
indefinite  skirmishes  and  attacks,  without  important 
results  on  either  side.  Given  a  couple  of  good  fighting 
ships  and  some  of  his  old  crews,  Paul  could  have 
made  more  history  in  a  week  than  the  entire  Russian 
fleet,  including  the  "  flotilla  "  —which  was  more  of  a 
hindrance  than  a  help — was  capable  of  doing  all 
through  the  war.  On  the  ;th  there  was  a  skirmish  in 
which  the  Russian  ships  were  at  one  time  in  danger 
of  being  cut  off,  owing  to  the  tardiness  with  which 
the  reserves  advanced.  The  wind  failing  at  the 
critical  moment,  Jones  had  his  vessels  towed  by 
ships'  boats,  "  and  by  an  oblique  movement  formed 
in  a  line  of  battle,  with  the  intention  of  cutting  off 
the  retreat  of  the  enemy,  and  galling  him  by  a  cross 
fire."  The  Captain  Pasha  advanced  in  a  kirlangitch 
to  bring  up  the  second  division  of  his  flotilla. 

"At  this  time  our  reserve  was  very  critically  situ 
ated.  A  double  chaloupe  quitted  the  station,  and 
four  of  our  galleys  were  in  danger  of  being  captured. 
The  Prince  of  Nassau,  who  did  not  relish  going 
himself,  sent  Brigadier  Corascoff,  who  made  these 


retreat." 


The  Prince  calmly  left  the  reserve,  which  was  much 
disorganised  without  a  leader,  and  "  stationed  himself 
before  the  Rear-Admiral,  where  he  could  be  of  no  use 
whatever.  The  Rear-Admiral  went  in  the  same  boat 
with  the  Prince  of  Nassau,  and  again  issued  his  orders 
along  the  line.  Being  now  within  cannon  shot  of  the 


368  PAUL   JONES 

enemy,  he  opened  fire,  advancing  always  in  an  oblique 
line  to  cut  off  the  enemy's  retreat.  At  the  same  time 
he  despatched  Brigadier  Alexiano  to  endeavour  to 
rally  the  vessels  of  the  reserve,  which  the  Prince  of 
Nassau  had  deserted;  but  Alexiano  contented  himself 
with  waving  his  hat  in  the  air  and  shouting  behind  the 
lines,  '  Fire,  my  lads,  on  the  kirlangitch  of  the  Captain 
Pasha ! ' " 

The  Russians  eventually  routed  the  Turks,  burning 
two  of  their  fifty-seven  vessels.  "  The  Rear-Admiral, 
who  had  directed  the  whole  affair,  gave  the  credit  of  it 
to  the  Prince  of  Nassau." 

On  the  1 6th  of  June  the  Turk  attacked  again,  having 
brought  from  the  grand  fleet  without  Kimbourn  two 
thousand  men  to  add  to  the  force  under  the  walls  of 
Oczakow;  only  the  fact  of  his  running  aground  frus 
trated  his  intention  of  bearing  down  on  the  Russian 
flotilla  under  full  sail  and  sinking  the  smaller  vessels. 
Captain  Pasha  then  intended  to  burn  the  Russian 
flotilla  "  by  throwing  in  fire  balls  (grappins),  and  setting 
fire  to  certain  trading  vessels  which  he  had  prepared 
as  fire  ships."  But  "the  best-laid  schemes  of  mice 
and  men"  cannot  be  relied  upon,  and  the  lack  of  a 
few  feet  of  water  frustrated  all  Captain  Pasha's  plans ; 
another  instance  of  that  "  chance  "  to  which  Paul  Jones 
always  declared  the  sailor  owed  so  much. 

At  midnight  the  rear-admiral  attacked  the  Turkish 
force,  which  was  thrown  into  such  confusion  that  they 
hoisted  anchors  and  cut  cables  in  wild  alarm.  "  Our 
squadron  advanced  in  line  of  battle  with  a  striking 
and  formidable  appearance,  so  that  the  Turks  knew 


PAUL   JONES  369 

not  how  weak  it  really  was.  As  our  flotilla  had  been 
very  slow  in  weighing  anchor,  the  Rear-Admiral  was 
obliged  to  make  the  squadron  halt  twice  to  await  it. 
At  length,  the  flotilla  being  always  last,  the  squadron 
opened  fire  on  the  enemy,  of  whom  the  person  second 
in  command,  who  had  flown  about  like  a  fool,  quickly 
ran  his  ship  on  a  sandbank  on  the  south  of  the  Liman. 
There  was  no  longer  hope  for  him;  from  the  moment 
he  grounded  he  was  ours." 

Taking  advantage  of  the  confusion  the  Turks  were 
in,  Jones  ordered  the  Wolodimir  to  steer  within  pistol 
shot  of  the  Turkish  flagship,  which  had  again  run 
aground.  Brigadier  Alexiano  who  had  no  wish  to 
endanger  himself,  under  pretence  that  there  was  only 
fifteen  feet  of  water,  gave  orders  in  Russian,  and 
unknown  to  the  Rear-Admiral,  "to  let  go  the 
Wolodimir 's  anchor."  The  Captain  Pasha  harassed 
the  Russians  by  throwing  bombs  and  balls  of  great 
size,  and  "  struck  down  "  the  Little  Alexander  with  a 
bomb.  There  was  no  discipline  on  the  Russian  ships, 
and,  instead  of  pursuing  the  flying  Turks,  the  flotilla 
swarmed  round  the  Turkish  ships  which  were  aground 
like  a  hive  of  bees.  Assembling  some  of  the  Russian 
vessels,  Jones,  with  de  Corascoff,  chased  the  Turks 
under  the  walls  of  Oczakow.  Nassau  hurried  to  claim 
the  admiral's  flag,  which  had  been  on  Captain  Pasha's 
ship.  "  The  Zaporavians  drew  the  flag  from  the  water, 
and  the  Prince  of  Nassau,  a  long  while  afterwards, 
had  the  glory  (which  he  turned  to  good  account)  of 
snatching  it  from  their  hands.  The  Rear-Admiral 
might  have  claimed  at  least  half  of  this  flag,  as  he 


A  A 


870  PAUL    JONES 

had  his  hands  on  it;  but  he  regarded  it  as  a  thing 
of  very  little  consequence." 

With  wanton  recklessness  the  Russians  destroyed 
the  ships  they  had  captured,  amusing  themselves  by 
firing  into  them  with  brandcougles,  a  kind  of  bomb 
shell,  perforated  with  holes,  filled  inside  with  com 
bustibles  and  fired  from  pieces  called  licornes. 
"  How  imbecile  does  the  human  mind  become  under 
the  influence  of  sudden  panic  !  The  Rear-Admiral,  an 
hour  after  the  affair,  advanced  in  his  boat  and  took 
soundings  all  along  the  Turkish  line,  opposite  the 
walls  of  Oczakow,  and  within  reach  of  case-shot,  and 
not  a  single  gun  was  fired  upon  him." 

On  the  night  of  the  i;th  June  Captain  Pasha 
attempted  to  get  his  remaining  force  out  of  the  Liman, 
but  was  prevented  by  the  raking  fire  of  the  block  fort, 
erected  some  time  before  by  the  Rear-Admiral's 
advice.  When  General  Suwarrow  sent  orders  for 
Jones  to  seize  the  Turkish  ships  lying  there  aground, 
Brigadier  Alexiano  dissuaded  him  from  sending 
frigates,  saying  he  would  lose  them,  "as  the  current 
there  was  like  that  of  a  mill  dam,  and  the  bottom  was 
so  bad  that  anchors  would  not  hold."  It  was  accord 
ingly  resolved  to  proceed  with  the  flotilla;  and 
Alexiano,  who  had  his  private  reasons,  set  out  with 
the  Prince  of  Nassau.  The  flotilla  went  pell-mell, 
and  without  any  sort  of  order  or  plan,  upon  the  nine 
ships  aground,  and  fired  brandcougles  into  them 
without  mercy.  It  was  in  vain  the  wretched  Turks 
made  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  and  begged  for  quarter 
on  their  knees  !  Above  three  thousand  of  them  were 


PAUL   JONES  371 

burnt  with  their  ships.  "  Neither  the  Prince  of  Nassau 
nor  Alexiano  were  to  be  seen  at  this  time.  They  were 
together  and  at  some  distance  during  the  frightful 
carnage,  and  it  was  afterwards  asked  of  them  if  they 
had  not  during  this  time  been  at  Kimbourn?" 

Used  to  the  clean  warfare  of  civilised  nations,  Paul 
was  daily  infuriated  at  "  the  monstrous  and  wanton 
cruelties  to  which  the  Turks  were  subjected  by  the 
more  barbarous  and  brutal  Russians,"  though,  had  the 
advantage  been  on  the  side  of  the  "unspeakable 
Turk,"  there  is  small  reason  to  suppose  the  exchange 
of  civilities  would  have  been  less  bitter.  Finally,  on 
the  27th,  Potemkin's  army  having  come  up,  Nassau 
received  orders  to  capture  and  destroy  the  Turkish 
flotilla  under  the  walls  of  Oczakow,  Jones  being 
instructed  to  render  him  every  assistance.  "  The  Rear- 
Admiral  had  sent  all  the  chaloupes  and  barcasses 
belonging  to  the  squadron  to  haul  out  the  vessels  of 
the  flotilla.  The  Prince-Marshal  had  taken  the  trouble 
to  arrange  the  plan  of  attack  himself,  but  this  plan 
was  not  followed." 

At  six  the  next  morning  Jones  sallied  forth  to  seize 
five  of  the  enemy's  galleys  within  shot  of  Fort  Hassan. 
These  lay  between  the  cross-fire  of  the  Russian  ships, 
Fort  Hassan,  the  Turkish  fleet  and  Oczakow,  making 
it  a  dangerous  enterprise,  and  to  protect  themselves 
further  the  Turks  had  prepared  a  small  frigate  as  a 
fire-ship,  which  they  set  alight  and  anchored  to  the 
north-east  of  Fort  Hassan. 

Jones  boarded  the  galley  of  the  Captain  Pasha, 
which  lay  considerably  nearer  the  fort.  But  from 


A  A  2 


872  PAUL   JONES 

unskilfulness  and  excess  of  zeal,  a  young  officer  cut 
the  cable  of  this  galley  without  waiting  the  orders  of 
the  Rear-Admiral ;  and  before  the  boats  could  be  got 
in  order  to  haul  it  out,  the  wind  drifted  the  galley 
towards  the  shore  and  still  nearer  the  fort.  Instantly 
Jones  ordered  the  galley  to  be  lightened  by  throwing 
everything  possible  overboard,  and  ropes  brought  to 
secure  it  to  the  burnt  frigate,  but  none  could  be  found 
long  enough.  *  The  Rear-Admiral  was  unwilling  to 
yield  to  the  obstinate  opposition  of  the  Turks,  who 
fired  upon  him  from  all  their  bastions  and  from  their 
flotilla,  and  he  despatched  Lieutenant  Fox  to  the 
Wolodimir  to  fetch  an  anchor  and  cable.  This  was 
a  certain  means  of  securing  his  object;  and  in  waiting 
the  return  of  the  lieutenant  he  left  the  galley  with 
his  people,  and  assisted  in  the  flotilla's  advance. 
Before  the  return  of  Lieutenant  Fox  he  was  astounded 
to  see  fire  break  out  in  the  galley  of  the  Captain 
Pasha,  at  first  believing  that  the  slaves  chained  on 
board  had  found  means  to  escape,  and  had  set  fire  to 
the  vessel;  afterwards  he  had  positive  proof  that 
Brigadier  Alexiano,  being  in  a  boat  at  the  time  with 
the  Prince  of  Nassau,  on  the  outside  of  the  flotilla, 
and  aware  of  the  intention  of  the  Rear-Admiral,  swore 
that  it  should  not  succeed,  and  sent  a  Greek  canoe 
to  set  fire  to  the  galley.  The  three  other  Turkish 
galleys  were  at  once  run  down  and  burnt  by  brand- 
cougles.  There  were  also  a  two-masted  ship  and  a 
large  bomb  vessel  burnt  near  Fort  Hassan.  This 
includes  all  that  was  taken  or  destroyed  by  water, 
save  fifty-two  prisoners  taken  by  the  Rear-Admiral  in 


PAUL   JONES  373 

the  two  galleys.  The  wretched  beings  who  were 
chained  in  the  galley  of  the  Captain  Pasha  perished 
there  in  the  flames."  It  is  generally  supposed  that  a 
large  number  were  captive  Christians,  forced  to  serve 
their  conquerors.  The  truth  of  the  burning  of  the 
Captain  Pasha's  galley  was  sworn  to,  and  arrested  by, 
a  number  of  Russian  and  foreign  officers  in  the  fleet. 

Again  it  will  be  seen  at  what  a  great  disadvantage 
Jones's  unfamiliarity  with  Russian  procedure  placed 
him,  for,  the  instant  the  action  was  over,  Nassau  and 
Alexiano  stampeded  to  the  Prince-Marshal's  head 
quarters  to  chant  an  ode  in  praise  of  deeds  performed 
by  themselves.  A  few  minutes  after  the  flotilla  began 
to  retire,  the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  "  of  which  Nassau 
and  Alexiano  received  their  share  before  returning  to 
headquarters."  The  latter  died  on  July  8th  of  a  malig 
nant  fever  caught  from  this  chill.  "  The  Prince  of 
Nassau,  who  had  made  use  of  him  in  caballing  against 
me,  God  knows  for  what,  neither  visited  him  in  his 
sickness,  nor  assisted  at  his  funeral."  Nor  did  the 
Greek  compatriots  leave  the  Russian  service,  as 
Alexiano  had  boastfully  asserted  they  would  do,  but 
served  peacefully  under  Jones  until  the  end  of  the 
war. 

For  his  important  services  in  this  war  Alexiano 
received  notice  the  day  before  his  death  of  his  pro 
motion  two  grades,  and  that  the  Empress  had  given 
him  a  fine  estate  and  serfs  in  White  Russia.  Nassau 
received  a  valuable  property  with  three  or  four  thou 
sand  serfs,  and  the  military  Order  of  St.  George  of 
the  second  class.  "Her  Majesty  likewise  gave  him 


374  PAUL   JONES 

liberty  to  hoist  the  flag  of  Vice-Admiral  on  the  taking 
of  Oczakow,  to  which  event  it  was  apparently  believed 
he  had  greatly  contributed.  I  received  the  Order  of 
St.  Anne,  an  honour  with  which  I  am  highly  flattered, 
and  with  which  I  could  have  been  perfectly  satisfied 
had  others  been  recompensed  only  in  the  same  propor 
tion,  and  according  to  the  merits  of  their  services.  All 
the  officers  of  the  flotilla  received  a  step  of  pro 
motion  and  gratuity  of  a  year's  pay.  The  greater  part 
of  them  also  obtained  the  Order  of  St.  George  of 
the  last  class.  Only  two  of  these  officers  had  been 
bred  to  the  sea;  all  the  others  were  ignorant  of  naval 
affairs.  The  officers  of  the  squadron  under  my  com 
mand  were  almost  wholly  marine  officers.  They  had 
done  their  duty  well  when  opposed  to  the  enemy; 
but  they  obtained  no  promotion,  no  mark  of  dis 
tinction,  no  pecuniary  reward.  My  mortification  was 
excessive. 

"  My  officers  at  this  time  gave  me  a  very  gratifying 
proof  of  their  attachment.  On  promising  that  I  would 
demand  justice  for  them  from  the  Prince-Marshal  at 
the  close  of  the  campaign,  they  stifled  their  vexation 
and  made  no  complaint." 

If  Rear-Admiral  Jones  could  have  metamorphosed 
himself  into  an  assiduous  toady  where  Potemkin 
was  concerned,  there  is  no  doubt  his  Russian  experi 
ences  would  have  been  less  trying,  but  he  was  "not 
skilled  in  playing  such  a  part/'  consequently  his  path 
was  a  rugged  one.  Between  Nassau  and  himself 
there  was  a  bitter  hatred,  born  of  years,  and  yet  in 
the  Russian  campaign  Nassau  was  the  one  man  essen- 


PAUL   JONES  375 

tial  to  his  interests.  The  Chevalier  Littlepage  urged 
him  to  keep  on  friendly  terms  with  the  princeling 
who,  through  some  remote  German  connection, 
claimed  cousinship  with  the  Empress,  who  was  one  of 
the  Anhalt-Zerbst  family.  Littlepage  wrote,  "  I  know 
that  your  honour  can  sacrifice  nothing ;  but,  for  heaven's 
sake,  my  dear  friend,  be  prudent,  as  much  for  yourself 
as  for  your  friends.  Prince  Potemkin  has  conceived 
a  high  esteem  for  you,  but  he  loves  Nassau.  If  ever 
mutual  interest  dictated  union  between  two  persons, 
it  is  between  you  and  the  Prince  of  Nassau  at  the 
present  moment.  The  reverse  will  be  the  prejudice 
of  both.  .  .  .  Remember  the  eyes  of  all  Europe  are 
fixed  upon  you.  Fear  no  competition,  and  be 
indulgent  to  those  who  have  not  the  same  reason  to 
feel  above  rivalry." 

Paul  assured  the  writer  that  he  had,  for  the  good  of 
the  service,  and  the  esteem  and  attachment  he  bore 
Prince  Potemkin,  endured  more  from  Nassau  than  he 
could  have  done  "  from  any  other  than  a  madman/' 
All  this  very  good  advice  ran  glibly  off  Littlepage's 
pen,  but  subsequent  events  proved  it  more  "  honoured 
in  the  breach  than  in  the  observance/'  for,  being 
appointed  to  a  command  in  the  squadron,  Littlepage 
came  face  to  face  with  some  of  the  problems  with 
which  his  friend  had  been  obliged  to  grapple.  What 
did  the  Chevalier  Littlepage  do?  Promptly  threw 
up  his  command  and  returned  to  Warsaw ! 

On  the  occasion  when  Potemkin,  with  the  General 
Comte  de  Brandisky  of  Poland,  the  Prince  de  Repuin, 
the  Prince  de  Ligne,  General  Samoilov  and  a  string 


376  PAUL   JONES 

of  glittering  dignitaries,  came  aboard  the  Wolodimir, 
remaining  to  dine  with  the  Rear-Admiral,  Potemkin, 
knowing  the  strained  relations  between  Jones  and 
Nassau,  requested  the  Chevalier  Littlepage,  who  was 
chamberlain  to  the  King  of  Poland,  and  Prince  de 
Ligne  to  patch  up  the  quarrel.  Nassau  apologised, 
and  Jones  "accepted  with  sincere  pleasure.  We 
embraced  in  the  presence  of  this  honourable  company, 
and  I  believed  him  as  sincere  as  myself."  But  this 
was  a  mere  cessation  of  hostilities.  The  campaign 
was  not  sufficiently  exciting  to  occupy  any  one  to  the 
exclusion  of  personal  grievances,  and  is  one  long 
recital  of  misunderstandings,  belittling  to  the  actors 
in  the  farce,  and  kept  alive  by  the  spoiled  favourite, 
who  was  peevish  for  more  decorations.  Trying  as 
most  of  his  experiences  had  been,  Paul  was  never 
driven  so  near  the  point  of  exasperation  as  at  this 
moment.  Potemkin,  at  first  friendly,  became,  under 
the  influence  of  Nassau,  less  amenable  to  reason; 
Nassau  was  jealous  of  Jones,  and  lost  no  opportunity 
of  annoying  him,  or  placing  petty  obstacles  in  his 
way. 

One  afternoon  Jones  called  on  Potemkin  to  make  a 
report,  and  the  favourite  showed  him,  through  the 
glass  he  carried,  "a  large  piece  of  artillery  on  the 
fore  part  of  the  vessel  of  the  Turkish  flotilla  that  stood 
farthest  out,  and  which  had  run  aground.  I  imagined 
at  the  time  that  there  was  no  other  vessel  run  aground 
save  the  one  in  the  road,  at  the  distance  of  a  verst 
from  the  fortress  of  Hassan  Pasha;  so  I  said  the  thing 
was  quite  easy;  for  although  the  Turks  should  come 


PAUL   JONES  377 

up  in  force  to  defend  the  vessel,  there  would  always 
be  time  to  spike  the  piece  of  cannon. 

"  It  was  night  when  I  undertook  this  little  enter 
prise.  As  I  did  not  imagine  the  Prince-Marshal 
attached  so  much  importance  to  it  as  to  wish  that  I 
should  conduct  it  in  person,  I  confided  it  to  Lieutenant 
Edwards,  a  brave  and  an  intelligent  man,  whom  I 
wished  to  requite  for  past  services.  .  .  . 

"  Mr.  Edwards  returned  before  daybreak  without 
having  succeeded.  He  said  there  were  a  great  many 
men  in  the  ship,  who  fired  on  him,  and  that  he  durst 
not  board  her,  he  was  so  ill  supported.  I  was  vexed 
that  he  had  failed,  and  in  my  report  to  the  Prince- 
Marshal  I  said  that  I  would  conduct  the  enterprise 
myself  next  night,  if  that  would  satisfy  him. 

4  The  Prince-Marshal  held  me  at  my  word;  but  it 
was  eleven  at  night  when  Mr.  Edwards  returned  with 
the  order.  The  wind,  which  was  high,  was  quite 
against  me,  as  well  as  a  strong  tide ;  and  I  would  have 
deferred  the  attempt  if  I  had  not  conceived  my  honour 
pledged.  I  was  led  to  hope,  that  after  midnight  the 
wind  might  fall  and  the  strength  of  the  tide  lessen, 
if  it  did  not  change.  The  night  was  very  dark,  and 
the  rain  fell  in  torrents.  I  waited  till  two  o'clock, 
when  the  moon  rose.  I  had  with  me  five  armed  boats, 
and  I  calculated  on  being  followed  by  four  bateaux 
saporoses,  and  by  one  of  the  armed  vessels  I  had 
taken  from  the  Turks;  but  it  was  impossible  to  haul 
them  against  the  wind,  and  I  was  compelled  to  go 
on  as  best  I  could  with  only  my  five  boats.  I  had 
noticed  that  our  flotilla  had  run  down  a  small  Turkish 


378  PAUL   JONES 

vessel  in  the  shallows  of  the  fortress  of  Hassan  Pasha, 
but  I  did  not  perceive  till  the  moment  after  I  had 
despatched  Mr.  Edwards  to  headquarters,  because  the 
vessel  lay  so  near  the  fortress,  where  the  water  is  of 
little  depth,  that  it  had  only  sunk  a  foot  or  fifteen 
inches,  and  consequently  appeared  as  if  still  afloat. 
As  the  Prince-Marshal  had  only  spoken  to  me  of  the 
farthest  out  of  the  Turkish  flotilla,  I  now  believed  he 
meant  the  one  nearest  the  fortress,  in  which  idea  I 
was  confirmed  by  Mr.  Edwards  on  his  return  from 
headquarters.  ...  I  rowed  for  the  vessel  nearest  the 
fortress,  which  carried  a  large  cannon  in  her  bow;  but 
after  having  fatigued  my  rowers,  I  was  vexed  to  see 
daylight  appear,  whilst  I  had  still  more  than  a  verst 
to  go  before  I  could  reach  the  vessel.  I  returned  on 
board  my  own  ship,  to  prevent  a  useless  alarm,  intend 
ing  to  renew  my  attempt  next  night. 

:<  Without  waiting  to  receive  my  report,  the  Prince- 
Marshal  sent  me  orders  to  abandon  the  enterprise,  for 
he  had  intrusted  it  to  other  ships  .  .  .";  but  the  "  other 
ships"  did  nothing;  and  the  Turks  availed  themselves 
of  an  open  way  to  bring  out  all  their  flotilla.  "  Some 
days  afterwards  a  colonel  of  Cossacks  boarded  the 
vessel  .  .  ,  and  set  fire  to  it,  for  which  he  received 
public  thanks/' 

On  July  1 3th  Potemkin  ordered  Jones  to  establish 
a  "  permanent  blockade."  The  wording  of  the  letter 
gave  great  offence  to  the  Rear-Admiral,  who  was  told 
to  "  hold  yourself  in  readiness  to  receive  him  (Captain 
Pasha)  courageously,  and  drive  him  back.  I  desire 
that  this  be  done  without  loss  of  time ;  if  not,  you  will 


PAUL   JONES  379 

be  made  answerable  for  every  neglect."  The  missive 
was  signed  by  Prince  Potemkin. 

With  even  the  slightest  knowledge  of  Jones's 
temper  it  can  readily  be  understood  that  he  answered 
"with  perhaps  rather  too  much  freedom  and  warmth," 
for  when  his  blood  was  up  he  had  as  little  care  for 
the  all-powerful  Prince-Marshal  as  he  had  shown  in 
his  earlier  days  for  insubordinate  sailors  or  "  political 
skippers."  Their  heated  correspondence  ended  in 
Jones  being  replaced  in  his  command  by  Admiral 
Mordwinoff.  Nassau,  having  displeased  his  dicta 
torial  friend  and  crony,  was  already  on  the  way  to 
Warsaw. 

"The  Rear-Admiral  at  the  same  time  received 
orders  from  her  Imperial  Majesty  to  go  to  St.  Peters 
burg  with  the  understanding  that  he  would  be 
employed  in  the  North  Sea."  Sweden  having  declared 
war  against  Russia  at  the  commencement  of  the  cam 
paign,  and  Admiral  Greig,  who  had  commanded  the 
Russian  fleet,  being  dead,  "  I  was  assured  her  Majesty 
had  very  important  views  in  recalling  me.  Yet  I 
could  not  but  feel  grieved  to  be  deprived  of  my  com 
mand  when  the  campaign,  so  far  as  regarded  maritime 
operations,  was  so  nearly  concluded." 

Potemkin,  despite  his  protestations,  had  little  love 
for  Nassau,  and  craftily  waited  until  the  Prince  had 
gone  to  Warsaw  before  distributing  the  gold  swords 
which  the  Empress  had  sent  as  rewards.  In  the  dis 
tribution  of  these,  Jones  and  all  his  officers  were 
studiously  overlooked,  and  he  afterwards  "heard 
several  of  the  officers  who  got  them  express  their 


380  PAUL   JONES 

astonishment,  not  being  able  to  guess  for  what  they 
had  been  so  highly  rewarded." 

On  November  the  Qth  Jones  embarked  in  a  small 
open  galley  for  Cherson.  He  suffered  excessively 
from  the  intense  cold,  and  the  day  after  his  arrival 
was  taken  dangerously  ill.  Three  days  and  nights  in 
an  open  boat  in  that  terrible  climate  had  their  effect 
on  one  whose  life  had  been  passed  chiefly  in  temperate 
or  tropical  latitudes.  His  journey  from  Copenhagen, 
with  its  subsequent  illness,  made  the  first  serious 
breach  in  the  iron  constitution  of  this  intrepid  man; 
and,  though  his  recuperative  powers  were  good,  Jones 
lacked  the  calm  mind  which  plays  so  large  a  share 
in  the  recovery  of  an  invalid.  He  did  not  leave 
Cherson  until  the  6th  of  December,  for,  even  had  the 
river  not  been  frozen,  he  was  too  weak  to  travel;  and 
finally  arrived  at  St.  Petersburg  on  December  28, 
1789. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 

1789-1790 

IT  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  by  his  wasted 
services  in  Russia,  where  he  contracted  the  illness 
which  terminated  fatally  in  his  forty-fifth  year,  Paul 
Jones  shortened  a  career  so  full  of  brilliant  possi 
bilities.  He  had  entered  the  Russian  navy  against  the 
advice  of  his  closest  friends,  and  Washington  so 
strongly  disapproved  of  the  "Champion  of  Liberty" 
enrolling  himself  under  the  banner  of  despotic 
Catherine,  that  he  always  afterward  blamed  Thomas 
Jefferson  for  his  part  in  the  negotiation. 

On  the  3ist  of  December,  1789,  the  Rear-Admiral 
was  commanded  to  appear  at  Court  for  a  private 
audience.  He  presented  the  flattering  and  insincere 
letter  with  which  Potemkin  had  charged  him,  in  which 
he  was  warmly  recommended  to  the  Empress,  only  to 
be  informed  a  day  or  so  later  that  the  Empress  must 
await  the  arrival  of  Prince  Potemkin  before  coming 
to  any  decision. 

A  strange  woman  this,  who,  above  her  love  of 
autocracy,  preserved  so  strongly  that  Teutonic  strain 
of  subserviency  to  the  male  which,  in  her  barbarian 
ancestresses,  had  made  them  meekly  condone  the  loss 
of  their  noses,  hacked  off  by  irate  lords  in  punishment 
for  imaginary — or  found  out — misdemeanour  :  the 

spirit  which  made  her  endure  being  struck  by  her 

381 


382  PAUL   JONES 

lover,  and  write  meekly  to  him  across  the  length  of 
her  Empire,  "Have  I  done  well,  my  master?" 

Jones's  reception  at  Court  and  his  success  socially 
were  not  pleasing  to  his  enemies,  who  set  afoot  a  vile 
intrigue  to  ruin  him.  The  old  story  of  Mungo 
Maxwell  was  resurrected,  but  the  victim  this  time  was 
Jones's  nephew,  who  had  been  flogged  to  death  at  his 
orders.  This  new  conspiracy  was  of  a  still  more  dis 
graceful  nature,  and  planned,  it  is  shameful  to  say,  by 
those  high  in  authority.  "  In  every  despotic  Court,  es 
pecially  in  that  of  St.  Petersburg,  political  intriguers 
never  are  in  want  of  servile  instruments  to  forward 
their  basest  and  darkest  purposes.  In  the  present  case 
these  tools  were  found  of  all  ranks,  though  of  but  one 
nation."  The  Comte  de  Segur  in  his  memoirs  presents 
the  intrigue  clearly,  as  from  his  important  diplomatic 
position  he  was  acquainted  with  the  innermost  life  at 
Court.  All  during  his  residence  in  Russia  he  played 
such  a  prominent  part  that  a  rival  once  said,  "  The 
Empress  does  not,  as  a  rule,  tell  her  ministers  what 
to  do  until  Segur  has  advised  her  what  to  tell  them." 

He  begins — 

"  Paul  Jones,  a  sharer  in  the  victories  of  the  Prince 
de  Nassau,  had  returned  to  St.  Petersburg;  his 
enemies,  unable  to  bear  the  triumph  of  a  man  whom 
they  treated  as  a  vagabond,  a  rebel,  and  a  corsair, 
resolved  to  destroy  him. 

'  This  atrocity,  which  ought  to  be  imputed  to  some 
envious  cowards,  was,  I  think,  very  unjustly  attributed 
to  the  English  officers  in  the  Russian  navy,  and  to  the 
merchants  who  were  their  countrymen.  These,  in 


PAUL   JONES  883 

truth,  did  not  disguise  their  animosity  against  Paul 
Jones;  but  it  would  be  unjust  to  affix  upon  all  a  base 
intrigue,  which  was,  perhaps,  but  the  work  of  two  or 
three  who  have  continued  unknown. 

"  The  Rear-Admiral  was  favourably  welcomed  at 
Court;  often  invited  to  dinner  by  the  Empress,  and 
received  with  distinction  into  the  best  society  in  the 
city ;  on  a  sudden  Catherine  commanded  him  to  appear 
no  more  in  her  presence. 

"  He  was  informed  that  he  was  accused  of  an  in 
famous  crime,  of  assaulting  a  young  girl  of  fourteen, 
of  grossly  violating  her,  and  that,  probably,  after  some 
preliminary  information  he  would  be  tried  by  the 
Courts  of  Admiralty,  in  which  there  were  many  Eng 
lish  officers,  who  were  strongly  prejudiced  against 
him. 

"  As  soon  as  this  order  was  known  every  one  aban 
doned  the  unhappy  American;  no  one  spoke  to  him, 
people  avoided  saluting  him,  and  every  door  was  shut 
against  him. 

"  All  those  by  whom  but  yesterday  he  had  been 
eagerly  welcomed,  now  fled  from  him  as  if  he  had  been 
infected  with  a  plague;  besides,  no  advocate  would 
take  charge  of  his  cause,  and  no  public  man  would 
consent  to  listen  to  him;  at  last  even  his  servants  would 
not  continue  in  his  service,  and  Paul  Jones,  whose 
exploits  every  one  had  so  recently  been  ready  to  pro 
claim,  and  whose  friendship  had  been  sought  after, 
found  himself  alone  in  the  midst  of  an  immense 
population ;  Petersburg,  a  great  capital,  became  to  him 
a  desert. 

"  I  went  to  see  him ;  he  was  moved  even  to  tears  by 


384  PAUL   JONES 

my  visit.  '  I  was  unwilling/  he  said  to  me,  shaking 
me  by  the  hand,  '  to  knock  at  your  door,  and  to  expose 
myself  to  a  fresh  affront,  which  would  have  been  more 
cutting  than  all  the  rest.  I  have  braved  death  a 
thousand  times,  now  I  wish  for  it.'  His  appearance, 
his  arms  being  laid  upon  the  table,  made  me  suspect 
some  desperate  intention. 

'  Resume/  I  said  to  him,  '  your  composure  and  your 
courage.  Do  you  not  know  that  human  life,  like  the 
sea,  has  its  storms,  and  that  fortune  is  even  more 
capricious  than  the  winds?  If,  as  I  hope,  you  are 
innocent,  brave  this  sudden  tempest ;  if,  unhappily,  you 
are  guilty,  confess  it  to  me  with  unreserved  frankness, 
and  I  will  do  everything  to  snatch  you,  by  a  sudden 
flight  (evasion),  from  the  danger  which  threatens  you/ 

'  I  swear  to  you  upon  my  honour/  said  he,  *  that 
I  am  innocent,  and  a  victim  of  the  most  infamous 
calumny.  This  is  the  truth — Some  days  since  a 
young  girl  came  to  me  in  the  morning  to  ask  me  if  I 
could  give  her  some  linen  or  lace  to  mend.  She  then 
indulged  in  some  rather  earnest  and  indecent  allure 
ments.  Astonished  at  so  much  boldness  in  one  of 
such  few  years,  I  felt  compassion  for  her;  I  advised 
her  not  to  enter  upon  so  vile  a  career,  gave  her  some 
money,  and  dismissed  her;  but  she  was  determined 
to  remain. 

'  Impatient  at  this  resistance  I  took  her  by  the 
hand  and  led  her  to  the  door ;  but  at  the  instant  when 
the  door  was  opened,  the  little  profligate  tore  her 
sleeves  and  her  neckerchief,  raised  great  cries,  com 
plained  that  I  had  assaulted  her,  and  threw  herself 


PAUL   JONES  385 

into  the  arms  of  an  old  woman,  whom  she  calle'd  her 
mother,  and  who,  certainly,  was  not  brought  there  by 
chance.  The  mother  and  daughter  raised  the  house 
with  their  cries,  went  out  and  denounced  me ;  and  now 
you  know  all.' 

"'Very  well/  I  said;  'but  cannot  you  learn  the 
names  of  those  adventurers  ? ' 

"  '  The  porter  knows  them/  he  replied.  '  Here  are 
their  names  written  down,  but  I  do  not  know  where 
they  live.  I  was  desirous  of  immediately  presenting 
a  memorial  about  this  ridiculous  affair,  first  to  the 
Minister  and  then  to  the  Empress;  but  I  have  been 
interdicted  from  access  to  both  of  them.' 

'Give  me  the  paper/  I  said;  'resume  your  accus 
tomed  firmness;  be  comforted;  let  me  undertake  it; 
in  a  short  time  we  shall  meet  again/ 

"As  soon  as  I  had  returned  home  I  directed  some 
sharp  and  intelligent  agents,  who  were  devoted  to  me, 
to  get  information  respecting  these  suspected  females, 
and  to  find  out  what  was  their  mode  of  life.  I  was 
not  long  in  learning  that  the  old  woman  was  in  the 
habit  of  carrying  on  a  vile  traffic  in  young  girls,  whom 
she  passed  off  as  her  daughters. 

:'  When  I  was  furnished  with  all  the  documents  and 
attestations  for  which  I  had  occasion,  I  hastened  to 
show  them  to  Paul  Jones.  '  You  have  nothing  more 
to  fear/  said  I, '  the  wretches  are  unmasked.  It  is  only 
necessary  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  Empress,  and  let 
her  see  how  unworthily  she  has  been  deceived;  but 
this  is  not  so  very  easy  :  truth  encounters  a  multitude 
of  people  at  the  doors  of  a  palace,  who  are  very  clever 


BB 


386  PAUL   JONES 

in  arresting  its  progress;  and  sealed  letters  are,  of  all 
others,  those  which  are  intercepted  with  the  greatest 
art  and  care.' 

" '  Nevertheless,  I  know  that  the  Empress,  who  is 
not  ignorant  of  this,  has  directed,  under  very  heavy 
penalties,  that  no  one  shall  detain  on  the  way  any 
letters  which  are  addressed  to  her  personally,  and 
which  may  be  sent  to  her  by  post;  therefore,  here  is  a 
very  long  letter  which  I  have  written  to  her  in  your 
name;  nothing  of  the  detail  is  omitted,  although  it 
contains  some  rough  expressions.  I  am  sorry  for  the 
Empress;  but  since  she  heard  and  gave  credit  to  a 
calumny,  it  is  but  right  she  should  read  the  justifica 
tion  with  patience.  Copy  this  letter,  sign  it,  and  I  will 
take  charge  of  it;  I  will  send  some  one  to  put  it  in 
the  post  at  the  nearest  town.  Take  courage ;  believe 
me,  your  triumph  is  not  doubtful/ 

"In  fact,  the  letter  was  sent  and  put  in  the  post; 
the  Empress  received  it,  and,  after  having  read  this 
memorial,  which  was  fully  explanatory,  and  accom 
panied  by  undeniable  attestations,  she  inveighed 
bitterly  against  the  informers,  revoked  her  rigorous 
orders,  recalled  Paul  Jones  to  Court,  and  received  him 
with  her  usual  kindness. 

1  That  grave  seaman  enjoyed  with  a  becoming  pride 
a  reparation  which  was  due  to  him ;  but  he  trusted  very 
little  to  the  compliments  that  were  unblushingly 
heaped  upon  him  by  the  many  persons  who  had  fled 
from  him  in  his  disgrace;  and  shortly  afterwards,  dis 
gusted  with  a  country  where  the  fortune  of  a  man  may 
be  exposed  to  such  humiliations,  under  the  pretence  of 


PAUL   JONES  387 

ill-health  he  asked  leave  of  the   Empress  to  retire, 
which  she  granted  him." 

The  account  of  this  attack  on  a  man  enjoying  the 
exalted  rank  Rear-Admiral  Jones  did  gives  food  for 
thought.  "  In  Russia,  at  that  moment,  the  crime  of 
which  he  was  accused  would  have  been  no  bar  to  his 
advancement."  Nor,  had  it  not  been  a  well-laid  plot, 
would  the  unsupported  word  of  the  lowest  class  of 
woman  been  listened  to,  much  less  taken  uncorrobor 
ated.  Such  people  were  knouted  and  disposed  of  by 
the  police  if  they  dared  to  open  their  mouths,  much 
less  openly  attack  those  from  whom  they  gained  their 
evil  living.  All  these  facts  point  to  one  conclusion  : 
that  the  plot  was  of  purely  Russian  origin,  for  no 
English  or  foreigners  controlled  the  Russian  autho 
rities  at  their  pleasure,  and  Jones,  in  his  letter  to 
Potemkin,  complains  that  his  "servant  was  kept 
prisoner  by  the  officers  of  police  for  several  hours,  two 
days  successively,  and  threatened  with  the  knout." 
Also,  that  M.  Crimpin,  whom  he  employed  as  advocate, 
has  been  forbidden  by  the  governor  of  the  city,  "  at 
his  peril,  or  any  other  person,  to  meddle  with  my 
cause  !  " 

He  asks  Potemkin  :  "  Shall  it  be  said  in  Russia  a 
wretched  woman,  who  eloped  from  her  husband  and 
family  in  the  country,  stole  away  her  daughter,  lives 
here  in  a  house  of  bad  fame,  and  leads  a  debauched 
and  adulterous  life,  has  found  credit  enough  on  a 
simple  complaint,  unsupported  by  any  proof,  to  affect 
the  honour  of  a  general  officer  of  reputation,  who  has 

BB  2 


388  PAUL   JONES 

merited  and  received  the  decorations  of  America,  of 
France,  and  of  this  Empire  ? " 

It  is  said  this  plot  was  traced  to  Nassau-Siegen, 
a  nephew  of   Besborodko,   and  young  Zouboff;  but 
de  Segur,  who  was  in  a  position  to  know,  makes  no 
such  allegation  in  his  Souvenirs  and  Anecdotes.    Jones 
left  a  mass  of  papers  relating  to  the  matter,  and  in 
the  letter  to  Potemkin  calls  attention  to  the  accusation 
that  he  was  alleged  to  have  held  a  long  conversation 
with  the  girl  in  Russian,  a  language  unknown  to  him  ! 
That  Paul  had  powerful  enemies  is  an  established 
fact.    During  his  service  in  the  Black  Sea,  not  a  letter 
of  any  sort  reached  him,  and  he  was  in  a  white  heat 
of  fury  at  the  thought  of  his  most  private  affairs  being 
common  property  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies.    Aston 
ished  at  the  total  neglect  on  the  part  of  every  one,  he 
could  not  understand  the  situation,  until,  through  the 
bag  of  the  French  Embassy,  he  received  a  letter  from 
the   American    Minister,    dated    Paris,    March    1789, 
which  began  by  telling  him  that  his  letter  from  St. 
Petersburg,   January   3ist,   was  the  "only   -proof  his 
friends  had  of  his  existence  since  he  left  Copenhagen" 
It  is  idle  to  suppose  that  this  outrageous  tampering 
with  his  letters  was  not  connived  at  in  high  places.    So 
widely    known    was    this    weakness    of    the    Russian 
Government,  that  when  Catherine's  son,  the  Archduke 
Paul,  travelled  through  Europe  with  the  Archduchess, 
he    arranged   for   his   private   correspondence   to  be 
forwarded    to    the    Swedish    post-office    by    couriers. 
Alas !    for    his    correspondent,    the    frivolous    aide- 
de-camp    Bibikoff,    who    had    the    rashness    to    write 
of    Potemkin   as   "One    Eye"— the    courier   bearing 


PAUL    JONES  389 

the    unlucky    letter    was    intercepted    at    Riga,    and 
poor    Bibikoff   sent   to   Astrachan,   where   he   died- 
suddenly. 

Though  restored  to  favour,  Jones  at  heart  was  no 
longer  enthusiastic  for  the  service  of  the  Empress. 
Always  sanguine,  he  hoped  for  the  fulfilment  of  the 
innumerable  plans  he  had  perfected  and  laid  before 
the  Ministers;  such  as  projects  for  commercial  treaties 
between  Russia  and  the  United  States,  which  were 
speedily  pigeon-holed.  He  was  furious  at  the  garbled 
versions  of  the  campaign  of  the  Liman,  which  were 
circulated  on  all  sides;  having  been  invited  to  Russia 
by  the  most  flattering  promises  and  inducements,  why 
this  sudden  change  of  face  ?  Potemkin  had  no  further 
use  for  him  in  Russia.  This  in  one  sentence  explains 
more  clearly  than  endless  volumes  that  long  chain  of 
inexplicable  events  which  so  grievously  chagrined  a 
man  whose  greatest  fault  was  his  readiness  to  put  faith 
in  the  protestations  of  apparent  friends.  Did  he  hope 
against  hope,  or  were  his  eyes  blinded  when  he  wrote 
to  Jefferson  from  St.  Petersburg  :  "  I  can  only  inform 
you  that  I  returned  here  by  special  desire  of  the 
Empress,  but  I  know  not  as  yet  how  or  where  I  am  to 
be  employed  for  the  next  campaign  "  ?  He  wished 
that  the  United  States,  which  had  concluded  a  treaty 
with  Morocco,  would  make  common  cause  with  Russia 
in  a  war  against  the  Barbary  States,  and  put  a  stop 
to  their  piratical  interference  with  commerce;  hoping 
Count  Besborodko  would  "  appoint  him  to  make  known 
the  intentions  of  the  Empress  to  the  United  States." 
Paul  alludes  to  the  incivility  displayed  by  Besborodko 
on  the  occasion  of  his  calling  to  take  leave,  as  he 


390  PAUL   JONES 

saw  the  "  Count  go  out  of  another  door,  and  depart 
without  a  single  expression  of  ordinary  civility  ad 
dressed  to  me  at  the  moment  of  my  leaving  Russia, 
to  console  me  for  all  the  bitter  mortifications  I  have 
endured  in  this  Empire.  Before  coming  to  Russia  I 
had  been  connected  with  several  governments,  and 
no  Minister  ever  either  refused  me  an  audience,  or 
failed  to  reply  to  my  letters."  Perhaps,  with  the 
incessant  tribulations  to  which  Jones  had  been  sub 
jected,  came  a  sort  of  forgetfulness,  for  what  of  the 
highly  unsatisfactory  correspondence  between  de 
Sartine  and  himself,  when  he  was  soliciting  a  ship 
from  the  French  Government? 

His  sole  object  in  calling  on  Besborodko,  he  ex 
plained,  was  to  take  leave  and  get  his  passport.  It 
seems  that  he  experienced  some  difficulty  about  his 
arrears  of  pay,  and,  having  been  told  by  the  Comte 
de  Bruce  that  the  Empress  granted  him  leave  of 
absence  for  two  years  with  the  appointments  of  his 
military  rank  during  his  absence,  wished  to  adjust  the 
matter  before  leaving  Russia.  Jones  had  only 
received  his  pay  and  allowances  from  the  time  of  his 
entry  into  the  service  to  the  ist  of  July,  1789,  some 
1800  roubles  a  year;  the  rouble  being  approximately 
four  shillings.  It  was  said  that  "  Her  Majesty  likewise 
mentioned  nothing  but  the  appointment  then  due." 
"  If  I  could  believe  that  this  was  her  Majesty's  inten 
tion  I  should  remain  silent,"  he  comments,  "  for  I 
certainly  did  not  accept  the  service  her  Majesty 
offered  me  on  account  of  my  appointments  or  the 
usual  emoluments  of  my  grade."  However,  the  busi- 


PAUL   JONES  391 

ness  was  satisfactorily  concluded   before  Jones  left 
St.   Petersburg. 

The  Rear-Admiral  was  granted  a  farewell  audience 
by  the  Empress,  who  cheerily  wished  him  bon 
voyage.  His  staunch  friend,  de  Segur,  gave  him  a 
letter  to  the  Comte  Montmorin,  in  which  Jones's 
services  were  most  flatteringly  alluded  to,  and  enclosed 
an  article  to  be  printed  in  the  Gazette  de  France,  in 
absolute  refutation  of  the  slanders  spread  by  his 
enemies. 

'  This  article  will  undeceive  those  who  have  be 
lieved  in  the  calumny,  and  will  prove  to  the  friends 
and  compatriots  of  the  Vice-Admiral,  that  he  has 
sustained  the  reputation  acquired  by  his  bravery  and 
his  talents  during  the  last  war;  that  the  Empress 
desires  to  retain  him  in  her  service;  and  that  if  he 
absents  himself  at  this  moment,  it  is  with  his  own  free 
will  and  for  particular  reasons  which  cannot  leave  any 
stain  on  his  honour. 

'  The  glorious  marks  of  the  satisfaction  and  bounty 
of  the  King  towards  M.  Paul  Jones,  his  attachment  to 
France,  which  he  has  served  so  usefully  in  the  common 
cause,  his  rights  as  a  subject  and  as  an  admiral  of  the 
United  States,  the  protection  of  the  Ministers  of  the 
King,  and  my  personal  friendship  for  this  dis 
tinguished  officer,  with  whom  I  made  a  campaign  in 
America,  are  so  many  reasons  which  appear  to  me  to 
justify  the  interest  which  I  took  in  all  that  concerned 
him  during  his  stay  in  Russia.3' 

This  announcement  alluded  to  Jones  in  flattering 
terms,  ending  :  "As  a  mark  of  favour  for  his  conduct 


392  PAUL   JONES 

during  this  campaign,  the  Empress  has  decorated  him 
with  the  insignia  of  the  Order  of  St.  Anne,  and  her 
Imperial  Majesty,  satisfied  with  his  services,  only 
grants  him  permission  to  absent  himself  for  a  limited 
time,  and  still  preserves  for  him  his  emoluments  and 
his  rank." 

Thanks  to  the  Chevalier  Littlepage,  a  descendant  of 
one  of  the  Irish  Brigade,  Paul  was  able,  in  1791,  to 
fathom  "  the  mystery  of  his  treatment  in  Russia,"  for 
the  Chevalier  Littlepage  travelled  from  Madrid  to 
Paris  with  a  "  gentleman  of  high  rank  in  the  diplomatic 
corps."  This  personage,  who  had  been  in  St.  Peters 
burg  during  Jones's  stay  there,  declared  it  to  have 
been  "  conducted  by  a  little  great  man  behind  the  cur 
tain.  The  unequalled  reception  with  which  I  had  at 
first  been  honoured  by  the  Empress  had  been  extremely 
mortifying  and  painful  to  the  English  at  St.  Peters 
burg,  and  the  courtier  just  mentioned  (finding  that 
politics  had  taken  a  turn  far  more  alarming  than  he 
had  expected  at  the  beginning  of  the  war),  wishing  to 
soothe  the  Court  at  London  into  a  pacific  humour, 
found  no  first  step  so  expedient  as  that  of  sacrificing 
me.  But  instead  of  producing  the  effect  he  wished, 
this  base  conduct,  on  which  he  pretended  to  ground 
a  conciliation,  rather  tended  to  widen  the  political 
breach,  and  made  him  despised  by  the  English 
minister,  by  the  English  Cabinet,  and  by  the  gentle 
man  who  related  the  secret  to  Mr.  Littlepage."  The 
letter  of  Mr.  Littlepage,  enclosed  with  this,  "  in  part 
confirms  this  solution  of  an  intrigue  so  essentially 
Russian.  Yet  there  remains  some  secret  cause  and 


PAUL   JONES  393 

movement  impossible  to  fathom."  'The  campaign 
upon  the  Liman,"  says  Chevalier  Littlepage,  "  added 
lustre  to  the  arms  of  Russia,  and  ought  to  have  estab 
lished  for  ever  the  reputation  and  fortune  of  the 
gallant  officer  to  whose  conduct  those  successes  were 
owing."  (Littlepage  attributes  to  the  Rear-Admiral  the 
entire  success  of  the  campaign  of  1788;  not,  like  Comte 
de  Segur,  dividing  his  laurels  with  Nassau;  and  it  is 
to  be  remembered  that  Littlepage  was  an  eye-witness.) 
He  concludes  by  commenting  on  the  very  apparent 
truth  that  unfortunately  in  Russia,  more  perhaps  than 
elsewhere,  everything  is  governed  by  intrigues.  "  Some 
political  motives,  I  have  reason  to  think,  concurred  in 
depriving  Rear-Admiral  Jones  of  the  fruits  of  his 
services;  he  was  thought  to  be  particularly  obnoxious 
to  the  English  nation,  and  the  idea  of  paying  a  servile 
compliment  to  a  power  whose  enmity  occasions  all  the 
present  embarrassments  of  Russia,  induced  some  lead 
ing  persons  to  ruin  him,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Empress, 
by  an  accusation  too  ridiculous  to  be  mentioned." 

One  of  Jones's  biographers  ascribes  to  him  the  in 
tention  of  entering  the  Swedish  navy,  but  there  is 
nothing  very  definite  to  confirm  the  statement;  and 
the  same  writer  goes  on  to  say  the  Rear-Admiral  had 
always  intended  returning  by  way  of  Copenhagen  and 
Berlin,  "but  as  it  was  known  that  he  left  Russia  dis 
satisfied,  he  deemed  it  best  to  avoid  all  further  occa 
sion  of  giving  his  enemies  any  handle  against  him,  and 
accordingly  he  kept  away  from  places  where  it  might 
be  presumed  that  he  was  tempted  to  tell  tales  or  utter 
complaints." 


394  PAUL   JONES 

Just  why  Paul  should  have  been  less  likely  to  utter 
complaints  at  Warsaw,  where  he  went,  than  at  other 
places,  it  is  hard  to  explain.  If  he  had  wished  a 
sympathetic  ear  for  his  wrongs,  there  was  the  Polish 
patriot,  Kosciusko,  with  his  hatred  of  Russia  and  his 
love  of  liberty,  who  fought  so  gallantly  to  free  his 
country.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  two  had  met  in 
America,  where  Kosciusko  served  on  Washington's 
staff  during  the  war.  The  men  became  good  friends, 
and  there  ensued  an  enigmatic  correspondence,  from 
which  one  infers  the  Pole  tried  to  enlist  the  Scotch 
man's  aid  in  his  plots  against  Russia,  as  the  Rear- 
Admiral  wrote,  from  Amsterdam  in  1/89,  that  a 
moment's  reflection  would  convince  Kosciusko  that 
the  considerations  he  owed  to  himself,  as  well  as  the 
delicacy  of  his  situation — still  being  an  officer  in  the 
Russian  service — did  not  permit  him  to  take  such  a 
step.  There  is  little  doubt  that,  had  he  been  free, 
the  lofty  patriotism  of  Kosciusko  would  have  drawn 
Jones,  always  the  champion  of  liberty,  into  the  struggle 
which  ended  the  life  of  the  patriotic  Pole. 

After  leaving  Russia,  Jones  passed  several  months 
in  the  tranquillity  of  Holland,  where  he  had  friends, 
pursuing  the  amusements  of  a  gentleman  of  leisure, 
though  his  brain  and  pen  were  never  idle.  After  his 
experiences  in  Russia,  it  was  a  rare  treat  to  receive 
and  write  letters,  secure  in  the  knowledge  that  they 
would  be  in  the  hands  of  those  to  whom  they  were 
addressed,  without  hindrance  other  than  the  slowness 
of  the  posts.  At  the  comparatively  young  age  of 
forty-two,  Paul  had  come  to  the  forked  ways.  There 


PAUL   JONES  395 

was  no  call  for  his  services  in  America;  France 
admired  and  petted  him,  but  offered  no  employment; 
with  Russia  he  was  sick  at  heart.  His  health  had 
never  recovered  from  the  exposure  of  his  reckless 
voyages;  his  musical  voice,  so  often  alluded  to,  showed 
signs  of  breaking,  and  his  general  condition  was  such 
as  to  give  grave  anxiety  to  his  intimates.  He  was  as 
sanguine  as  ever,  and  wrote  to  a  friend  in  Hamburg 
of  his  intention  to  go  there  in  the  spring  "  and  pay  my 
court  to  some  of  your  rich  old  ladies.  ...  I  must  stay 
in  Europe  till  it  is  seen  what  changes  the  present 
politics  will  produce  ...  if  you  think  I  can  pass  my 
time  quietly,  agreeably,  and  at  a  small  expense  in 
Hamburg,  I  should  prefer  it  to  the  fluctuating 
prospects  of  other  places/' 

Paul  Jones  in  the  character  of  a  suitor  to  rich  old 
ladies,  shows  the  versatile  hero  in  another  light.  His 
feminine  correspondence  was,  as  of  yore,  most  ex 
tended,  and  he  thought  of  going  to  Avignon  to  visit 
Madame  la  Mair  d'Altigny,  to  whom  he  wrote  on 
February  8,  1790.  The  usual  mystery  shrouds  this 
lady,  and  the  postscript  gives  food  for  surmise, 
when,  nearly  a  year  later,  he  asks  :  "  Have  you  not 
sufficient  confidence  in  my  discretion  to  explain  '  the 
enigma '  of  the  happiness  with  which  you  say,  '  I  will 
be  loaded,  and  which  will  astonish  me  as  soon  as  I 
know  it '  ?  " 

Perhaps  it  was  a  little  mal-apropos  that  Jones 
sent  his  "  great  respect "  to  the  celebrated  Madame 
Krudener,  when  writing  to  her  husband,  as  that  charm 
ing  lady — who  had  not  then  developed  the  role  of 


396  PAUL   JONES 

prophetess  and  religious  mentor  to  the  Emperor 
Alexander — tiring  of  the  "  shawl  dances/'  a  la  Hamil 
ton,  with  which  she  delighted  her  Parisian  circle,  was 
amusing  herself  by  a  violent  amour  with  that  dashing 
cavalry  officer,  Louis  de  Fregville !  Jones  asks 
Baron  Krudener's  aid  in  securing  his  Danish  pension, 
which  the  other  assured  him  would  be  easy;  but  at  the 
time  of  his  death  he  speaks  of  never  having  received  a 
penny  of  it. 

The  Rear-Admiral  inforced  the  Empress  Catherine 
that  "  Her  Majesty  would  soon  receive  a  direct  proof 
of  the  unanimous  approbation  with  which  I  am 
honoured  by  the  United  States.  I  allude  to  the  gold 
medal  which  I  am  to  receive,  and  respecting  which  you 
have  in  your  hands  a  copy  of  the  unanimous  act  of 
Congress.  .  .  .  The  United  States  have  ordered  a 
copy  of  my  medal  to  be  presented  to  every  sovereign 
in  Europe,  Great  Britain  excepted." 

While  passing  through  Vienna,  Jones  had  been 
received  at  the  Court  of  Joseph  II,  and  met  the  Arch 
duke,  afterwards  Leopold  II,  whom  he  failed  to  find 
impressive,  though  he  was  the  "  son  of  Maria  Theresa 
and  the  brother  of  Marie  Antoinette."  It  is  a  strange 
anomaly,  that  a  man  who  cared  so  little  for  recompense 
from  those  he  served,  should  have  had  so  keen  and 
successful  a  grasp  of  financial  matters,  in  which  he  was 
invariably  fortunate.  His  Amsterdam  agents  had 
managed  the  investments  placed  in  their  hands  most 
satisfactorily,  and  in  1790  he  was  obliged  to  go  to 
London  at  Dr.  Bancroft's  request,  as  the  latter  had 
taken  Sir  Robert  Harris  into  partnership,  and  insisted 


PAUL   JONES  397 

that  Jones  should  look  over  his  books.  This  inspec 
tion  was  most  gratifying,  and  showed  some  £6000  to 
his  credit,  £4000  of  which  he  immediately  drew,  un 
doubtedly  with  the  intention  of  providing  for  Aimee 
de  Telusson,  and  settling  some  debts  incurred  on  her 
account. 

If  Jones  had  been  uncertain  about  his  reception  in 
England,  his  mind  was  shortly  set  at  rest.  Though 
the  papers  had  been  filled  by  Tooke  with  calumnies, 
based  on  the  Russian  slander,  he  found  an  unex 
pected  champion  in  Sir  Robert  Curtis.  Just  at  that 
moment  when  the  dastardly  plot  was  unravelled  by  de 
Segur,  the  Empress  had  sent  for  Captain  (later  Sir 
Robert)  Curtis,  "  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  chivalric 
men  that  ever  wore  the  British  naval  uniform,  which 
is  about  all  that  can  be  said  of  any  man,"  whom  she 
wished  to  have  in  her  service.  Curtis  and  de  Segur 
had  been  friends  in  India  long  ago,  and  the  former 
felt  so  incensed  at  the  way  Paul  Jones  was  slan 
dered,  that  he  bluntly  refused  to  enter  the  Russian 
service,  and,  what  is  more  to  the  point,  immediately 
on  reaching  London,  wrote  an  article,  over  the 
signature,  "  A  Briton  Afloat/3  denouncing,  in  the 
strongest  language,  the  treatment  to  which  so  gallant 
a  sailor  had  been  subjected,  and  concluding— 

'  They  ought  to  cease  entertaining  the  hatreds  of  a 
past  war  as  to  Paul  Jones,  and  welcome  him  to  their 
respect  and  admiration  as  the  only  commander  in 
naval  history  who  had  shown  himself  able  to  make 
French  sailors  fight  like  Englishmen  .  .  .  and  to 
reflect  with  pride  that  he  could  never  have  done  this 


398  PAUL   JONES 

if  he  had  not  himself  been  British  born.  Those  who 
wish  to  do  so,  may  call  him  a  pirate.  To  me  he  was 
a  rebel,  indeed,  in  the  American  Revolution;  but  his 
rebellion  has  succeeded,  its  success  has  long  been 
acknowledged  by  our  sovereign,  and  now  I  think  it 
high  time  to  view  him  on  his  merits  as  a  fighter  and 
a  conqueror  on  the  sea,  without  prejudice  and  without 
any  more  impotent  hate." 

Society  lost  no  time  in  flocking  to  see  this  much- 
discussed  character.  The  epistolary  Walpole  showed 
him  the  delights  of  Strawberry  Hill ;  he  visited  Charles 
James  Fox,  Lady  Wemyss,  and  other  "people  of 
fashion,"  including  Lady  Ossory,  who  showed  him 
marked  civility.  In  company  with  the  Prince  Regent, 
his  old  friend  the  Due  d'Orleans,  and  a  following  of 
"  Bloods,"  he  had  the  sublime  felicity  of  being  present 
at  the  championship  prize-fight  between  "  Big  Ben 
Ryan  "  and  Mendoza,  two  of  the  Prince  Regent's  pets, 
the  event  being  held  at  Wormwood  Scrubbs.  Jones 
rode  frequently  in  the  Park,  where  the  spectacle  of  a 
sailor  on  horseback  startled  the  writer  of  the  London 
Chronicle  into  marvelling  where  so  distinguished  a  son 
of  Neptune  could  have  had  the  opportunity  of  learning 
to  ride  other  than  sea-horses.  The  discussions  on  the 
Russian  question,  which  agitated  Parliament  at  that 
moment,  interested  him  deeply,  as  he  had  so  recently 
come  from  the  scene  of  war. 


CHAPTER   XXV 

1789-1792 

WHAT  is  more  likely — though  history  is  silent  on  the 
point — than  that  part  of  the  gallant  Admiral's  stay  in 
Holland  was  cheered  by  the  company  of  the  -petite 
blonde  f  Mistress  of  her  actions,  why  should  she 
allow  her  lover  to  be  so  near  and  not  go  to  him? 
Despite  the  seeming  delicacy  of  those  wasp-waisted 
ladies,  they  thought  nothing  of  travelling  hundreds 
of  miles  on  wobbly  pillions,  or  in  primitive  vehicles, 
under  conditions  which  would  reduce  us  to  a  state 
bordering  on  nervous  exhaustion.  But  we  shall  never 
know  if  Aimee  and  her  lover  mused  on  the  placid 
innocuousness  of  Dutch  landscape,  or  met  again,  when 
the  gardens  of  Paris  blazed  with  the  luxuriance  of 
late  May.  This  meeting  was  the  beginning  of  the 
end.  It  is  hard  to  deceive  a  woman  who  loves,  and 
from  the  moment  of  their  meeting,  even  when  joy 
lent  buoyancy  to  his  step  and  the  flush  of  excitement 
tinged  his  swarthy  cheek,  a  presentiment  of  coming 
sorrow  gripped  Aimee's  heart  in  icy  bands.  She 
longed  to  have  the  opinion  of  the  first  doctor  of  the 
day  :  yet  dreaded  the  verdict,  as  one  hesitates  to  open 
the  final  chapter  of  a  book,  lest  the  ending  shall  be 
tragedy. 

Putting  her  feelings  aside,  she  insisted  her  lover 

399 


400  PAUL   JONES 

should  have  a  consultation.  Paul  was  obliged  to 
submit,  and  found  himself  in  the  hands  of  an  old 
friend,  Dr.  Gourgeaud,  who  had  been  fleet-surgeon 
when  he  cruised  as  the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil's  guest 
on  La  Triompkante,  in  1782-3.  Jones  was  annoyed 
to  learn  that  his  lungs  were  permanently  affected  from 
the  illness  contracted  in  Russia,  to  which  country  he 
was  forbidden  to  think  of  returning.  Though  the 
Rear-Admiral  pleaded  and  argued,  they  were  firm, 
bidding  him  consider  his  health  before  his  duty  to 
the  Empress.  He  might  remain  in  Paris  during  the 
summer — with  precautions,  but  unless  he  went  south 
during  the  cold  weather  they  would  not  hold  out  any 
encouragement  of  his  recovery.  This  was  a  crushing 
blow  to  a  man  of  forty-three,  brimming  with  ambi 
tion,  just  beginning  to  reap  those  laurels  he  so  loved. 
He  said  little,  and,  with  his  usual  fatalistic  belief, 
shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  care  fell  from  him. 

The  daily  approaching  crisis  in  French  politics 
took  his  mind  from  himself,  and  he  burned  to  be  in 
the  thick  of  the  struggle,  which,  like  a  great  cauldron, 
seethed  almost  at  boiling-point,  ready  to  overflow  and 
scald  the  unwary.  Always  more  or  less  in  the  public 
eye,  from  his  unusual  personality  as  well  as  from  the 
unique  position  he  occupied,  Jones's  return  was  noted 
by  a  most  flattering  article  in  the  Point  du  Jour,  and, 
calling  to  thank  the  editor,  Bertrand  de  Barere,  the 
interview  resulted  in  a  lasting  friendship.  Bertrand 
de  Barere,  as  to  whose  personality  Macaulay  ex 
pressed  pronounced  opinions,  started  life  as  an  obscure 
country  lawyer  and  ended  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 


PAUL   JONES  401 

National  Convention,  where  he  amused  himself  by 
embellishing  his  speeches  with  thundering,  guttural 
oaths  in  the  Basque  tongue,  which  no  one  but  himself 
understood.  Barere  used  to  boast,  when  under  the 
mellow  influence  of  the  flowing  bowl,  that  his  ancestors 
helped  Hannibal  in  his  conquests  of  Gaul,  and  were 
only  deterred  from  taking  Rome  by  the  debauch  of 
Capua.  Jones  found  him  interesting,  as  the  acquaint 
ance  afforded  a  glimpse  of  the  bourgeoise,  a  class 
with  which  he  had  never  come  in  contact,  and 
also  enabled  him  to  view  French  politics  from  a 
diametrically  opposite  standpoint.  Ardent  advocate 
of  liberty  as  he  had  always  been,  Jones  maintained 
his  opinion  that  the  establishment  of  a  republic, 
similar  to  the  United  States,  was  impossible  in  France, 
from  the  fact  of  the  adjoining  countries  being 
monarchical,  the  different  temperament  of  the  people, 
and  the  utterly  dissimilar  conditions  prevailing. 
America  was  a  country  unhampered  by  precedent, 
France  was  honeycombed  with  ancient  customs  of 
which  no  one  knew  the  origin,  so  lost  were  they  in  the 
dark  ages ;  and  to  sweep  a  king  from  his  throne,  when 
a  constitutional  monarchy  would  serve  better,  would 
be  an  act  of  insanity.  Jones  argued  that  Louis  XVI 
was  the  truly  sincere  friend  of  French  liberty,  and  not 
responsible  for  the  sins  of  his  ancestors,  disagree 
ing  with  Danton,  who  declared  the  King  aided  the 
American  cause  solely  to  annoy  England.  It  must 
be  admitted  that  the  King's  kindness  to  Jones  un 
doubtedly  biased  his  views  more  or  less,  and  he  had 
long  arguments  with  Tom  Paine,  who  told  him  that, 


c  c 


402  PAUL   JONES 

should  Louis  be  deposed,  France  would  not  be  the 
first  nation  to  kill  its  sovereign,  adding  that  he  and 
Jones  were  descendants  of  those  men  who  had  made 
such  things  as  Cromwell  possible.  But  Jones  stuck 
to  his  argument,  retorting— 

"  What  you  say  is  true,  Tom,  but  bear  in  mind  that 
the  French  lack  two  essential  elements  of  that  situa 
tion  :  First,  they  have  in  Louis  XVI  no  Charles  I, 
and  second,  and  most  important,  there  isn't  the 
making  of  one  Cromwell  in  the  whole  group  of  them 
together." 

Firm  as  Paul  was  in  his  defence  of  the  King,  he 
could  not  condone  the  monarch's  weakness  on  the 
"Day  of  daggers"  (February  28,  1791).  He  said: 
"  Up  to  that  time  I  had  been  able  to  find  reason  for 
the  King's  gentleness.  But  this  was  not  gentle.  It 
was  weak.  From  that  hour  1  pitied  the  poor  man, 
beset  by  situations  to  which  nature  had  made  him 
unequal.  Then  or  never  was  the  time  for  grapeshot. 
Then,  and  then  only,  did  my  heart  turn  against  the 
populace.  For  once  I  wished  I  might  be  in  command 
of  the  thirty  cannon  that  were  packed  in  the  court 
yard,  with  trained  men  standing  ready  to  work  them. 
Some  slaughter  would  have  been  necessary,  but  it 
would  have  been  a  slaughter  of  scoundrels  (boucherie 
dcs  scelerats)" 

As  to  Lafayette,  who  played  such  a  prominent  part 
in  the  public  life  of  the  hour,  Jones,  though  a  firm 
friend,  shared  the  universal  opinion  of  his  contempor 
aries  that  the  tremendous  responsibilities  of  the 
political  upheaval  were  more  than  he  was  capable 


PAUL   JONES  403 

of  controlling,  and  that  he  had  let  loose  more 
"dogs  of  war"  than  could  be  called  to  heel  at  his 
whistle. 

Lafayette  was  occupied  morning  and  night  with  his 
duties  in  the  National  Guard,  and  Jones  attended  all 
the  debates,  where  political  questions  were  discussed 
with  a  vigour  and  impassioned  eloquence  possible  only 
among  the  Latin  races. 

Improved  in  health,  Paul  enjoyed  life  to  its  fullest 
extent  in  the  society  he  loved  best.  The  more  one 
realises  the  stupendous  amount  of  manual  labour 
involved  in  the  indefatigable  correspondence  with 
scattered  friends,  the  projects,  memorials  and  plans 
which  he  drew  up,  in  a  time  when  mechanical  devices 
for  writing  were  unheard  of,  and  sees  the  reams  of 
paper  covered  in  his  neat  script,  the  more  easily  one 
understands  that  cramped  fingers  and  weakened  eye 
sight  must  have  been  the  inevitable  result.  He  wrote 
congratulating  Potemkin  on  his  Russian  success ;  pro 
posed  to  Gouverneur  Morris  plans  for  the  attack  on 
India,  should  Russia  and  England  declare  war,  and 
was  never,  for  an  instant,  idle  or  without  project  for 
his  employment. 

There  have  been  many  comments  on  Paul's  seem 
ing  weakness  for  sending  his  bust  to  his  friends;  this 
Baron  Grimm,  the  greatest  gossip  of  his  day,  explains, 
completely  refuting  the  supposition  that  the  bust  was 
first  taken  at  his  own  wish.  Touching  on  the  social 
success  of  the  returned  hero  in  1780,  on  his  having 
been  "applauded  with  transport  at  all  the  public 
places  where  he  has  shown  himself,  and  particularly 


cc  2 


404  PAUL   JONES 

at  the  opera,"  he  alludes  to  the  remarkable  fact  "that 
this  brave  corsair,  who  had  given  multiplied  proofs  of 
possessing  a  soul  the  most  firm  and  courage  the  most 
determined,  is  at  the  same  time  the  most  feeling  and 
mild  man  in  the  world,  has  made  a  great  many  verses 
full  of  elegance  and  softness,  the  sort  of  poetry  which 
appears  most  congenial  to  his  taste  being  the  elegy 
and  the  pastoral.  The  Lodge  of  the  Nine  Sisters,  of 
which  he  is  a  member,  have  employed  M.  Houdon 
to  take  his  bust.  This  resemblance  is  a  new  master 
piece  worthy  of  the  chisel  which  appears  destined 
to  consecrate  to  immortality  illustrious  men  of  all 
kinds." 

In  February,  1/91,  Jones  requested  the  Empress 
Catherine  to  cancel  his  leave,  "  if  she  had  no  further 
use  for  his  services."  He  asked  Jefferson  to  obtain 
permission  from  Congress  to  wear  the  Order  of  St. 
Anne,  with  which  his  bust  had  been  decorated.  There 
were,  in  Russia,  five  orders  of  knighthood  :  three 
founded  by  Peter  the  Great,  and  two,  St.  George  and 
St.  Vladimir,  by  Catherine  II.  St.  Anne  was  a  Hoi- 
stein  Order,  conferred  by  the  Grand  Duke  Paul,  as 
Duke  of  Holstein;  only  the  Russian  decorations  being 
conferred  by  the  Empress  personally. 

To  Baron  Grimm  Jones  sent  a  copy  of  his  bust,  and 
the  particulars  of  a  new  development  in  ship-building, 
submitted  by  the  inventor,  who  claimed  the  advan 
tages  of  separate  beds  or  hammocks  for  the  crew,  less 
smoke  in  action,  better  ventilation,  and  a  host  of 
smaller  details.  Jones  desired  that  this  might  be 
brought  to  the  notice  of  the  Empress,  as  it  would 


PAUL   JONES  405 

be  useful  to  Russia.  He  asked  Grimm  to  learn  the 
intentions  of  the  Empress  regarding  himself;  but 
Catherine,  while  using  Grimm  as  a  compiler  of  back 
stairs  gossip,  did  not  consider  him  a  necessary  factor 
in  affairs  of  state,  and  informed  him  curtly  :  "  If  peace 
did  not  take  place  she  would  let  M.  Paul  Jones  know 
her  intentions  respecting  himself,  and  would  not 
choose  him  as  the  medium  of  her  correspondence 
with  Paul  Jones." 

It  is  interesting  just  at  this  moment  to  pause, 
wondering  what  the  ultimate  destiny  of  this  man 
would  have  been  had  he  lived  through  the  great 
Revolution,  until  Napoleon  raised  France  to  the 
apex  of  her  military  glory.  When,  years  later,  the 
news  of  Trafalgar  was  brought  to  Napoleon,  he 
gloomily  asked  Berthier :  "  How  old  was  Paul  Jones 
when  he  died?5'  and  on  being  told  about  forty-five — 
Berthier  was  not  sure — said  :  "  Then  he  did  not  fulfil 
his  destiny.  Had  he  lived  to  this  time  France  might 
have  had  an  admiral,"  and,  again,  he  said  :  "  Our 
admirals  are  always  talking  about  pelagic  conditions 
and  ulterior  objects,  as  if  there  was  any  condition  or 
any  object  in  war  except  to  get  in  contact  with  the 
enemy  and  destroy  him.  That  was  Paul  Jones's  view 
of  the  conditions  and  objects  of  naval  warfare.  It 
was  also  Nelson's.  It  is  a  pity  they  could  not  have 
been  matched  somewhere  with  fairly  equal  force.*' 

Paul,  during  the  last  year  and  a  half  of  his  life, 
was  in  indifferent  health,  which,  combined  with  the 
unsettled  condition  of  politics,  restrained  him  from 
taking  active  steps  to  obtain  employment  for  his 


406  PAUL   JONES 

services.      There  was  a  terrible  tension  in  the  very 
air,  the  precursor  of  the  swift-coming  storm,  which 
kept  every  nerve  on  the  alert,  ready  to  spring  from 
danger  at  the  sound  of  the  tocsin.     Paul's  wonderful 
adaptability  fitted  him  for  any  office  to  which  he  could 
have   been   appointed,   and   his   political    friendships 
brought  him  continuously  in  touch  with  the  men  in 
whose    hands    lay    the    destinies    of    France.      The 
brilliant  Treatise  on  the  Existing  State  of  the  French 
Navy,  though  published  anonymously,  was  instantly 
attributed  to  Jones,  who,  in  December,  1791,  was  pre 
sented  at  Court  in  his  rank  of  Russian  Admiral.     In 
the  letter  telling  Lafayette  of  this  he  speaks  of  some 
"  fur  linings,  brought  from  Russia,"  which  he  hoped 
his  Majesty  would  accept.     These  were  a  pelisse  of 
spotless  ermine  and  a  mantle  of  sea-otter  given  him 
by  General  Suwarrow.    The  unsettled  claims  for  pay 
ment   of   the   Bonhomme   Richard's   crew,   wrhich   he 
had  advanced  and  never  received,  occupied  him  con 
tinually.    Undeniably  all  these  incessant  projects  and 
worries  sadly  affected  his  health,  when  he  should  have 
been  quiet  and  untroubled,  and,  added  to  his  restless 
temperament,  augmented  the  jaundice  from  which  he 
was  beginning  to  suffer. 

With  what  pleasure  he  would  have  received  the 
news  that  Congress  had  commissioned  him,  the  ist 
of  June,  1792,  as  admiral,  to  take  command  of  a 
squadron,  sent  to  bring  that  graceless  old  heathen,  the 
Dey  of  Algiers,  to  reason  and  to  liberate  the  Christian 
captives.  It  was  his  favourite  project,  but  death  spared 
him  the  disappointment  of  knowing  that  his  adopted 


PAUL   JONES  407 

country,  impoverished  by  war,  was  unable,  when 
the  time  came,  to  raise  the  million  dollars  needed  to 
equip  the  expedition.  When  Mr.  Pinkham,  the  new 
American  Minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James,  arrived, 
bringing  the  commission,  Paul  was  far  beyond  all 
these  worldly  honours.  The  dwindling  sands  of  life 
had  ceased. 

As  always,  his  last  days  were  full  of  action,  hurrying 
to  and  fro,  and  endless  visitors  at  his  appartement  in 
the  Rue  de  Tournon  near  the  Luxembourg,  where  he 
kept  open  house  and  we  find  the  names  of  great  and 
small  in  the  political  melee,  the  Due  d'Orleans  among 
the  number. 

When  too  ill  to  go  abroad  Paul  spent  the  warm 
July  afternoons  lounging  in  a  hammock,  "which  Mme. 
de  Telusson  caused  to  be  rigged  in  the  garden  of  the 
Admiral's  lodgings,  a  genuine  sailor's  hammock,  swung 
low  to  the  ground  with  long  cords  stretching  clear 
across  the  little  garden.  In  this  hammock  the  Admiral 
would  pass  the  afternoons  when  the  sun  had  retired 
behind  the  shade  of  the  houses  opposite;  and  Mme. 
de  Telusson  would  sit  by  him,  gently  swinging  the 
hammock.  In  this  way  the  stricken  hero  found  some 
relief  from  the  pains  that  devoured  him." 

A  stranger  to  illness,  he  never  doubted  his  recovery  : 
those  near  him  were  not  so  hopeful.  He  had  aban 
doned  the  idea  of  returning  to  Russia,  and,  had  he 
lived,  planned  to  enter  the  French  service,  where  high 
rank  awaited  him.  Jones  attended  a  sitting  of  the 
National  Assembly  on  Wednesday,  July  nth,  and  was 
to  have  spoken  on  the  reorganisation  of  the  French 


408  PAUL   JONES 

navy,  but,  when  the  time  came,  begged  to  be  excused 
on  account  of  his  health,  as  to  have  been  heard  in  that 
vast  chamber  would  have  necessitated  him  raising  his 
voice  to  a  pitch  which  brought  on  the  terrible  attacks 
of  coughing  so  weakening  to  him.  After  the  spirited 
seance  concluded,  Jones  joined  Cambon,  Barere,  and 
other  members  of  the  Central  Jacobin  Club  for  supper 
at  the  Cafe  Timon. 

The  following  speech,  alleged  to  have  been  recorded 
by  Capelle,  but  found  in  none  of  the  standard  works, 
is  quoted  by  Buell  with  no  reference  to  the  where 
abouts  of  the  original,  and  is  a  most  astounding  jumble 
of  phrases  to  have  fallen  from  the  lips  of  Paul  Jones, 
whose  enmity  to  England  disappeared  long  since,  and 
who  was,  above  all,  self-contained  and  a  diplomat  to 
the  tips  of  his  fingers,  and  never  known  to  give  way 
to  such  outbursts— 

"At  this,  which  proved  to  be  his  last,  supper  all 
were  delighted  at  the  apparent  mending  of  the 
Chevalier's  health.  Barere  and  Philippe  were  particu 
larly  cheered  by  his  showing  of  health  and  recuperat 
ing  energy. 

'  They  toasted  him  as  the  coming  Admiral  of 
France.  But  he  parried  all  their  compliments  politely, 
and  finally  said— 

" '  Gentlemen,  pardon  me,  but  let  me  say  that  this 
is  no  time  for  jest  or  raillery,  no  matter  how  well 
meant  or  how  gentle.  You  all  know  my  sentiments. 
I  do  not  approve,  I  cannot  in  conscience  approve,  all 
that  you  have  done,  are  doing,  and,  alas !  intend  yet 
to  do.  But  I  feel  that  I  ought  to  take  advantage  of 


PAUL   JONES  409 

this — perhaps  my  last — opportunity  to  'define  clearly 
my  attitude. 

"  '  Whatever  you  do  now,  France  does.  If  you  kill 
my  good  friend  the  King,  France  kills  him;  because, 
as  things  are  now  ordered,  the  group  of  which  a  great 
majority  is  present  here,  is  France.  Louis  XIV  once 
said  :  "  I  am  the  state."  You  can  say  that  you  are  the 
state  with  more  truth. 

" '  My  relations  to  the  people  across  the  Channel 
are  known  to  us  all.  Their  enemies  must  be  my 
friends  everywhere;  those  whom  they  hate  I  must 
love.  As  all  here  know,  as  all  France  knows,  the 
progress  of  the  French  people  towards  liberty,  and  the 
promises  that  progress  gives  of  new  strength  and  a 
new  might  to  the  French  nation,  fill  the  rulers  of 
England  with  alarm  and  resentment.  The  day  when 
this  alarm  will  turn  to  hostility  and  this  resentment  be 
expressed  by  blows  is  not  far  off.' ' 

It  is  the  beginning  of  this  paragraph  which,  even 
if  taken  as  a  purely  political  bit  of  oratory,  seems 
so  impossible.  That  a  man  of  Jones's  conservative 
nature  and  well-controlled  temperament  should  launch 
forth  into  such  clap-trap  appeals  for  popularity  is 
utterly  at  variance  with  his  behaviour  through  life. 
There  being  no  phonographs  ready  to  record  his  words 
verbatim,  and  the  brain  of  the  scribe — in  all  proba 
bility — over-excited  by  the  conviviality  of  the  meal, 
one  must  allow  for  exaggeration.  The  Admiral  never 
saw  a  report  of  the  speech,  and  undoubtedly  local 
colour  crept  in  unawares. 

" '  When  that  day  comes,  if  I  am  able  to  stand  a 


410  PAUL   JONES 

deck/  the  speech  continues,  '  I  shall  make  no  point 
of  rank/  "  an  absurdity  when  it  is  well  known  that 
although  Paul  had  no  desire  for  money  he  stuck 
tenaciously  to  little  worldlinesses  like  these.  '  I 
shall  raise  no  question  of  political  opinion.  I  shall 
only  ask  France  to  tell  me  how  I  can  best  serve  her 
cause. 

" '  You  have  brought  back  to  my  ears  the  sound  of 
many  voices  giving  forth  the  lusty  cheers  of  courage 
in  combat.  Some  of  those  faces  were  of  American 
mould;  but  more  were  the  faces  of  Frenchmen.  Some 
of  those  voices  sounded  in  my  native  tongue,  but 
more  in  the  language  of  France.  The  Richard's 
crew  was,  as  you  know,  considerably  more  than  half 
Frenchmen. 

" '  I  cannot  be  immodest  enough  to  say  that  I  found 
it  easy  to  teach  them  the  art  of  conquering  English 
men.  But  I  trust  you  will  not  think  me  vainglorious 
if  I  say  that,  in  that  combat,  I  at  least  did  what,  un 
fortunately,  some  French  officers  have  not  of  late 
years  done,  I  simply  let  my  Frenchmen  fight  their 
battle  out. 

"  '  Now,  I  promise  you  that,  if  I  live,  in  whatever 
station  France  may  call  me  to  lead  her  sons,  I  shall 
always,  as  I  have  done  when  meeting  the  English  or 
any  other  foe,  let  my  Frenchmen  fight  their  battle 
out/" 

There  is  much  more  in  the  same  strain  of  florid 
oratory  which  makes  one  certain  that  the  gallant  Paul 
has  been  too  freely  translated. 

The  following  Sunday  Gouverneur  Morris  visited 


PAUL   JONES  411 

Paul  Jones  at  his  house,  42  Rue  de  Tournon,  in  the 
afternoon. 

"  Found  the  Admiral  lying  in  a  hammock,  stretched 
in  the  little  garden  in  the  rear  of  his  lodgings.  Mme. 
T.  and  two  young  ladies  were  with  him.  He  was 
extremely  cheerful,  and  seemed  better  than  for  a  long 
time  previously.  He  did  not  cough  much,  and  talked 
a  good  deal.  Wonderfully  interesting !  Promised 
to  lunch  with  me  next  day.  Took  my  leave  about  five 
o'clock,  and  the  ladies  accompanied  me.  .  .  .  Mme. 
de  T.  was  most  charming,  and  was  in  high  spirits  at 
the  evident  improvement  of  the  Admiral's  health." 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  i8th  of  July,  1792,  Paul 
Jones  drew  up  his  will  and,  assisted  by  Gouverneur 
Morris,  made  an  inventory  of  his  goods,  but  no  one 
dreamed  that  the  end  was  so  near.  Simply,  and 
unostentatiously  as  he  had  lived,  his  spirit  left  the 
ambitious,  tired  body.  Alone  and  self-reliant,  Paul 
Jones  breathed  his  last.  .  .  .  No  tears  fell  from  tender 
eyes,  no  loving  fingers  closed  the  heavy  lids.  .  .  . 

Colonel  Blackden  wrote  a  simple  and  brief  letter 
announcing  his  death  to  Mrs.  Taylor  of  Dumfries,  his 
eldest  sister— 

"  Great  Titchfield  Street, 

"  London^  August  9. 

'  Your  brother,  Admiral  Jones,  was  not  in  good 
health  for  about  a  year,  but  had  not  been  so  unwell 
as  to  keep  the  house.  For  two  months  past  he  began 
to  lose  his  appetite,  to  grow  yellow,  and  show  signs  of 


412  PAUL   JONES 

the  jaundice;  for  this  he  took  medicine,  and  seemed 
to  grow  better;  but  about  ten  days  before  his  death  his 
legs  began  to  swell,  which  increased  upwards,  so  that 
two  days  before  his  exit  he  could  not  button  his  waist 
coat,  and  had  great  difficulty  in  breathing.  I  visited 
him  every  day,  and,  beginning  to  be  apprehensive  of 
his  danger,  desired  him  to  settle  his  affairs;  but  this 
he  put  off  till  the  afternoon  of  his  death,  when  he  was 
prevailed  upon  to  send  for  a  notaire,  and  made  his 
will.  Mr.  Beaupoil  and  myself  witnessed  it  about 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  left  him  sitting  in  a 
chair.  A  few  minutes  after  we  retired  he  walked  into 
his  chamber,  and  laid  himself  upon  his  face  on  the 
bed-side,  with  his  feet  on  the  floor;  after  the  Queen's 
physician  arrived  they  went  into  the  room  and  found 
him  in  that  position,  and  upon  taking  him  up  they 
found  he  had  expired. 

"  His  disorder  had  terminated  in  dropsy  of  the 
breast.  His  body  was  put  into  a  leaden  coffin  on 
the  2oth,  that  in  case  the  United  States,  whom  he 
had  so  essentially  served,  and  with  so  much  honour 
to  himself,  should  claim  his  remains  they  might  be 
more  easily  removed.  This  is  all,  Madame,  that  I  can 
say  concerning  his  illness  and  death." 

The  final  discovery  of  the  Admiral's  body  by  the 
untiring  efforts  of  the  American  Embassy  in  Paris,  and 
its  exhumation  in  1905,  after  lying  hidden  for  one 
hundred  and  thirteen  years  in  the  abandoned  cemetery 
of  St.  Louis;  its  removal  to  America  under  escort  of 
a  naval  squadron,  and  subsequent  burial  with  much 


PAUL   JONES  413 

ceremony  at  the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis,  are 
all  too  recent  events  to  need  description.  There  had 
been  several  half-hearted  efforts  previously  by  the 
American  Government  to  find  and  remove  the  remains, 
but  they  all  failed  from  one  cause  or  another. 

It  seems  a  remarkable  omission  that  a  man  so 
famous  as  Paul  Jones,  who  was  followed  to  his  grave 
by  a  deputation  from  the  National  Assembly  and 
by  many  of  the  leading  men  of  France,  should  have 
been  buried  without  any  name-plate  or  other  dis 
tinguishing  mark  on  the  leaden  coffin.  This  omission 
is  all  the  more  remarkable  since  a  leaden  coffin 
was  used  "  in  case  the  United  States,  whom  he 
had  so  essentially  served,  and  with  so  much  honour 
to  himself,  should  claim  his  remains,  they  might  be 
more  easily  removed.3'  And  there  are  those  who 
whisper  that  the  body,  exhumed  and  taken  away  with 
so  much  ceremony  and  care,  is  not  that  of  the  founder 
of  the  American  Navy. 

The  American  Minister,  Gouverneur  Morris,  writing 
to  Robert  Morris,  says— 

"  Before  I  quit  Paul  Jones  I  must  tell  you  that 
some  people  here  who  like  rare  shows  wished  him 
to  have  a  pompous  funeral,  and  I  was  applied  to  on 
the  subject;  but  as  I  had  no  right  to  spend  money 
on  such  follies,  either  the  money  of  his  heirs  or  that 
of  the  United  States,  I  desired  that  he  might  be  buried 
in  a  private  and  economical  manner.  I  have  since  had 
reason  to  be  glad  that  I  did  not  agree  to  waste  money, 
of  which  he  had  no  great  abundance,  and  for  which 
his  relatives  entertained  a  tender  regard.'' 


414  PAUL   JONES 

Why  this  absurd  and  niggardly  desire  when  Morris, 
of  all  men,  knew  that  his  friend  left  a  considerable 
sum  of  money  at  his  banker's,  and  an  estate  eventually 
realising  £12,000?  One  might  even  go  to  the  length 
of  thinking  that  in  the  event  of  so  distinguished  a 
man  as  the  Chevalier  Admiral  Paul  Jones  having  died 
in  poor  circumstances,  his  friend  could  have  taxed  the 
obligations  of  friendship  to  the  extent  of  seeing  him 
buried  in  a  manner  appropriate  to  his  worldly  rank. 
Was  there,  in  Morris's  heart,  that  latent  gleam  of 
jealousy  of  the  "foreigner"  from  which  Paul  seemed 
ever  doomed  to  suffer?  The  French  wished  to  place 
him  in  the  Pantheon  to  sleep  among  the  heroes  of 
their  nation ;  why,  then,  was  he  buried  in  the  cemetery 
for  foreign  Protestants  with  "  no  priest,  no  service," 
and  a  simple  volley  of  musketry  fired  over  his 
grave  ? 

The  Moniteur  in  its  official  report  of  the  National 
Assembly  records  that  a  letter  was  received  on  the 
subject,  from  Colonel  Blackden— 

"  MR.  PRESIDENT, 

"  I  announce  to  you  that  Admiral  Paul  Jones 
died  last  evening  in  Paris ;  that  the  American  Minister 
has  ordered  the  person  at  whose  house  the  Admiral 
died  to  cause  him  to  be  buried  in  the  most  private 
manner,  and  at  the  least  possible  expense  !  !  ! 

'  This  person,  on  account  of  the  formalities  still 
existing  relative  to  Protestants,  found  it  necessary  to 
apply  to  a  Commissary.  He  has  done  it,  and  M. 
Simoneau,  the  Commissary,  expresses  his  astonishment 


PAUL   JONES  415 

at  the  order  given  by  the  Minister,  and  says  that  a 
man  who  has  rendered  such  signal  services  to  France 
and  America  ought  to  have  a  public  funeral.  He 
adds  that  if  America  will  not  pay  the  expense  he  will 
pay  it  himself.  The  friends  of  the  Admiral  wait  the 
orders  of  the  Assembly  respecting  the  mode  of 
interment. 

"  S.  BLACKDEN. 
"  (Late  Colonel  in  the  Service 
of  the  United  Slates^ 

A  curious  old  law  still  existed  which  allowed 
foreign  Protestants  to  be  buried  free  of  expense,  and 
this  was  to  be  taken  advantage  of  to  bury,  as  a  pauper, 
a  man  whose  name  had  rung  through  two  worlds 
.  .  .  The  generous  M.  Simoneau,  brother  of  the 
Mayor  of  Etampes,  actually  paid  the  expenses  of  the 
pitiful  burial,  which  amounted  to  462  francs,  and 
the  great  Paul  Jones  was  laid  to  his  final  rest 
through  the  kindness  and  charity  of  a  total  stranger ! 
The  Dutch  Pastor,  Paul  Henri  Marron,  delivered 
the  funeral  oration,  a  florid  bit  of  oratory  highly 
complimentary  to  the  dead;  the  speaker  declaring 
"the  fame  of  the  brave  outlives  him,  his  portion  is 
immortality." 

Though  America  forgot  him,  in  the  hearts  of  his 
French  friends  Paul  held  a  place  not  to  be  usurped 
by  another.  On  the  Sunday  following  his  death 
Barere  delivered  from  the  steps  of  the  Palais  de 
Justice  one  of  his  celebrated  "  Sermons  to  the  People  " 
on  the  "  Freedom  of  the  Sea,"  in  which  he  eulogised 


416  PAUL   JONES 

the  gallant  Paul  Jones  in  the  highest  terms,  and 
during  the  next  decade  memoirs  of  him  were  con 
stantly  published  at  Paris.  His  personal  belongings, 
decorations  and  uniforms  were  taken  charge  of  by 
Mrs.  Taylor,  the  sister  who  came  from  Scotland  for 
this  purpose.  The  golden  sword  given  him  by  Louis 
XVI,  of  which  he  was  so  justly  proud,  he  bequeathed 
to  "  Dick  "  Dale,  who,  he  said,  had  done  more  than 
any  one  to  help  him  win  it.  Of  the  beautiful  and 
broken-hearted  Aimee  there  is  no  word,  but  her 
welfare  had  been  his  care  long  ago. 

There  is  much  thoughtfulness  evinced  for  those 
dependent  on  him,  to  whom  he  left  his  property. 
Through  the  busy  years  of  his  life  he  kept  up  a  corre 
spondence  with  the  two  married  sisters,  endeavouring 
to  mediate  in  their  incessant  quarrels.  He  frequently 
sent  them  money,  and  this  was  undoubtedly  the  reason 
for  their  persistence  in  keeping  warm  the  slight  tie 
of  relationship,  for,  as  they  had  not  met  for  some 
twenty  years,  their  interests  could  have  had  little  in 
common. 

Paul  Jones  undoubtedly  deserves  to  rank  as  one 
of  the  remarkable  men  of  an  age  which  saw  the  final 
disappearance  of  the  feudal  system  and  the  birth  of 
an  era  devoted  to  those  "  Rights  of  Man  "  of  which 
he  was  so  ardent  a  champion.  Had  he  entered  the 
British  navy  his  rise  would  have  been  steady  and 
rapid,  for  as  a  sea-fighter  he  was  unsurpassed  in 
resourceful  daring;  never  did  he  know  defeat,  or,  it  is 
alleged,  was  he  wounded.  His  victories  were  the 
more  remarkable  from  the  poor  means  with  which  he 


PAUL   JONES  417 

gained  them,  and  were  won  single-handed,  unsup 
ported  by  his  squadron,  won  by  sheer  fighting,  and 
owed  nothing  to  manoeuvre  or  stratagem.  It  is  better 
for  his  undimmed  glory  that  he  never  lived  to  become 
Admiral  of  the  fleet  of  Republican  France,  for,  fight 
ing  as  he  would  have  been  obliged  to  fight  with  the 
preponderance  of  his  crew  Frenchmen — and  none  of 
his  sturdy  "  Yankee  bullies"  to  fall  back  upon — could 
he  have  held  his  own  when  he  measured  swords  against 
Nelson,  as  he  would  have  been  called  to  do?  Could 
he,  by  the  magnetism  of  his  personality,  the  force  of 
his  inflexible  will,  have  inspired  these  Frenchmen  to 
fight  as  they  had  once  fought  on  the  Bonhomme 
Richard  f 

He  was  a  man  without  a  country,  inasmuch  as, 
though  he  fought,  and  fought  loyally  for  the  banner  he 
upheld,  his  love  of  active  service  predominated  over 
all  else.  When  he  told  Lady  Selkirk  :  "  I  am  not  in 
arms  as  an  American.  ...  I  profess  myself  a  citizen 
of  the  world,  totally  unfettered  by  the  little,  mean 
distinctions  of  climate  or  country,"  he  expressed  those 
sentiments  which,  above  all,  animated  him.  He  was 
"  unfettered  by  the  little,  mean  distinctions  of  climate 
or  country,"  but  he  had  not  forgotten  his  native  land 
to  the  extent  of  indifference  to  the  opinions  of  his 
compatriots,  for  he  once  said  :  "  The  English  nation 
may  hate  me,  but  I  will  force  them  to  esteem  me 


He  believed  firmly  in  Nelson's  dictum  that  "  a  naval 
officer,  unlike  a  military  commander,  can  have  no  fixed 
plans.  He  must  always  be  ready  for  the  chance.  It 

DD 


418  PAUL   JONES 

may  come  to-morrow,  or  next  week,  or  next  year,  or 
never;  but  he  must  be  always  ready."  He  was  pre 
pared  for  what  might  happen,  and  among  his  papers 
was  found  a  complete  and  exhaustive  list  of  every 
ship  in  the  English  navy,  down  to  the  most  insigni 
ficant  detail.  With  this  he  could  not  be  taken  by  sur 
prise  as  to  the  strength  of  his  opponent.  There  was 
much  speculation  as  to  the  manner  in  which  he 
obtained  such  a  document,  but  since  1770  Paul  had 
been  a  Freemason,  and  to  such  an  one  nothing  is 
denied  by  his  brothers.  While  in  France,  where  Free 
masonry  was,  for  the  moment,  the  fashionable  whim, 
this  universal  brotherhood  unlocked  for  him  many  a 
secret  door.  It  was  so  very  much  the  cult  of  the  hour 
that  there  were  lodges  to  which  women  belonged  as 
well  as  men,  and  the  initiation  of  the  beautiful  Prin- 
cesse  de  Lamballe  as  Grande  Maitresse  of  the  Mere 
Loge  E  cos  sals  e  d' Adoption  was  the  occasion  of 
much  festivity  and  a  flowery  poem  in  honour  of  the 
event. 

His  faults  were  those  of  too  keen  a  love  for  glory, 
too  great  an  intolerance  of  those  who  had  light  regard 
for  their  word  of  honour,  too  bitter  a  contempt 
for  such  as  put  gain  before  the  welfare  of  their 
country. 

He  formed  many  friendships  with  men  and  with 

the  women  of  the  hour ;  his  love  for  Aimee  de  Telusson 

was  ardent  and  chivalrous,  and  yet  these  friendships 

—these  ties — were  as  frail  as  the  web  of  the  spider 

when  ambition  balanced  the  scales. 

There  was  no  hesitation  for  him,  destiny  ordered 


PAUL   JONES  419 

his  to  be  a  life  of  ambition,  full  of  turbulent  emo 
tions,  gratified  achievements,  never-ending  hope  and 
aspiration.  .  .  .  Can  he  not  be  aptly  described  in 
the  words— 

*'  Jealous  in  honour  ;  sudden  and  quick  in  quarrel  ; 
Seeking  the  bubble  reputation 
Even  in  the  cannon's  mouth  "  ? 


INDEX 


ADAMS,  J.  O.,  49,  52,  60,  61,  65, 
74,  75>  9b>  !7o,  301,  302,  329 

Alexander,  W.,  144,  146 

Alexiano,  Brigadier,  362,  364, 
366,  3(38,  369,  370,  371,  372, 

373 

Algiers,  Dey  of,  406 
Altigny,  Mme.  la  Mair  d',  395 
Amherst,  Sir  Godfrey,  30 
Aremberg,  Prince  Louis  d',  118 
Artois,  Comte  d',  no 
Auray,  Marquise  d',  189 
Austen,  John  Loring,  95,  96 
Auvergne,  La  Tour  d',  303 

Baines,  Capt.,  180 

Bancroft,  Dr.,  95,   no,  200,  262, 

396 

Bandonin,   194 
Bannatyne,  Dr.,  259,  263 
Barere,    Bertrand    de,     114,    400, 

401,  408,  415 
Bart,  Jean,   198,  202,  330 
Beaumarchais,  216 
Beaupoil,  411 
Beauvallon,  312 
Benson,  Capt.,  21 
Bernstorff,  Count,  344 
Bersolle,   161,   162,   167,   168 
Berthier,  405 
Bertrand,  Mme.,  103 
Besborodko,  Count,  348,  354,  359, 

388,  389,  390 
BibikofT,  388,  389 
Biddle,    Nicholas,   61,  77,    198 
Blackden,  Col.,  411,  414 
Bloom,  Rosalie,  335 
Bonneval,  104.     See  Telusson,  de 
Bouffon,  Mme.  de,  118 
Bourbon,  Comtesse  de,  114 
Bourgoyne,  Gen.,  91,  92,  95,  101 
Braddock,  Gen.,  32,  60 


Brandisky.  Comte  de,  375 
Brook,  Lawrence,  255,  259 
Bruce,  Comte  de,  390 
Buell,  408 
Burband,  John,  245 

Cadwalder,  Gen.,  77 
Calonne,  de,  145,  166 
Cambon,  408 

Campan,  Mme.  de,  113,  330 
Capelle,  113,  408 
Carleton,  Sir  H.  G.,  56,  58 
Carroll,  Col.,  74 

-  Mrs.,  74 

Castries,   Marechal  de,  312,  329, 

330 
Catherine  II,  341,  342,  345,  346, 

347,  348,  349,  351'  352>  353» 

354>  355'  357,  35^,  359,  360, 

361,  363,  364,  373,  375,  379, 

381,  382,  383,  385,  386,  387, 

388,  389,  390,  391,  392,  393, 
396>.  397,  400,  404,  405 

Chamillard,  Col.,  230,  234,  243 

Chandler,  Caroline,  85 

Charles  I,  402 

Charlie,  Bonnie  Prince,   11 

Chartres,  Due  de,  40,  41,  42, 

99,  101,  116,  117,  125,  160, 

163,  166,  203,  207,  284,  285, 

305 

-  Duchesse  de,   41,    102,    106, 
114,    119,    120,    125,    127,    203, 

207,  208,  210,  211,  228,  284, 
285,  286,  287,  288,  303 

Chaumont,  Le  Ray  de,  96,  155, 
167,  194,  196,  199,  200,  205, 
211,  214,  215,  216,  217,  218, 
219,  265,  266,  274 

Choiseul,  Due  de,  104 

Clinton,  Sir  Henry,    173 

Cooper,  Fenimore,  189 


429 


INDEX 


421 


Corsacoff,    Brigadier,   367,   369 
Cottineau,   Capt.,   233,   234,   259, 

260,  268,  269,  275 
Craik,  Mr.,  10,  13,  14,  15,  27,  181 

-  Mrs.,  10 
Crimpin,  387 
Cromwell,  -}O2 
Cunningham,  Allan,  188 
Currie,  Beck  &  Co.,  24 
Curtis,  Sir  R.,  397 

Daer,  Lord,  145 

Dale,   Richard,   Lieut.,  225,  237, 
239,    246,    250,    251,    256,    277, 

278,  3*8,  337.  4l6 
Deane,  Silas,  120,  121,  176 
Degge,  Arthur,  Lieut.,  275,  310 
"Delia,"     288,     290,     292,     293, 

294 

Denmark,  King  of,  266,  344 
Derby,  Earl  of,   185 
Dibden,  189 
Donegal,  John,  151 
Dorset,  Duke  of,  145 
Dowries,  Johnny,  325 
Dumas,  Alex.,  189,   190 

-  Charles  Frederick,  121,  123, 
267,  311 

Dun  more,    Earl    of,    33,    59,    60, 


Eastment,  James,  24,  25 
Edes-Herbert,     Miss,     114,     294, 

295,    296,    297,    299,    300 
Edgerley,  Dr.,  259,  263,  264 
Edwards,    Lieut.,    359,   360,    365, 

377-  378,  395 

Elliot,  Grace  Dalrymple,   118 
Estaing,  Comte  d',  201,  203,  327 
Evans,  Jerry,  246 

Falls,  Gunner,  151 

Fanning,  Nathaniel,  65,  225,  246, 

247,  259,  281,  282,  314,  337 
Father  John,  143 
Faulkner,  Betty,  74 
Fisher,  Col.  Henry,  322 
Fitzmaurice,  Mr.,  215 
Ford,    Hezekiah,    124,    170,    171, 

172 
Fox,  Charles  James,  397 

-  Lieut.,  372 
Franklin,    Benjamin,   67,   83,   95, 

97,  120,  J2i,  122,  123,  124,  143, 


144,    162,    165,    170,    172,    191, 

194,  197,  2OO,  2OI,  203,  2O6, 

207,  2i6,  2l8,  220,  221,  222, 

227,  231,  26l,  266,  267,  271, 

272,  273,  274,  276,  278,  282, 

283,  3OI,  306,  307,  309,  3IO, 

318,  329,  331,  335 
Frazier  Brothers,  42,  334 
Frederick  the  Great,   104,   105 
Freeman,  134 
Fregville,    Louis  de,  396 

Galles,  Morad  de,  341 

Gardner,    Henry,    235,    246,    250, 

337 

Genlis,  Mme.  de,  119 
George  III,  49,  122,  261,  266,  311 
Gerard,  Pierre,  243,  245 
Gillon,  Capt.,  121 
Gourgeaud,  Dr.,  400 
Gourlade  and  Moylan,  144,  210 
Grand,  le,   147 
Grasse,  de,  201 
Green,  Mr.,  131 
Greig,  Admiral  Sir  Samuel,  359, 

379 
Grimm,     Baron,    288,    403,    404, 

405 
Grub,  Lieut.,   178,   179 

Hacker,  Capt.,  55 

Hall,  Elijah,  79,  80,  89,  92,  93 

-  Dorothy,  85 
Hancock,  John,  50 
Hannibal,  401 
Harris,  Sir  R.,  396 
Harrison,  Benjamin,  43 
Hazard,  Capt.,  53 

Hewes,    Joseph,    36,    43,    49,    60, 
74.  75.  J37>  H9.  201'  2°5>  2o6' 

219,    222 

Hill,  Chas.,  93,  131,  132 
Hineman,  Capt.,  61 
Hood,   Sir  Samuel,  332 

-  Midshipman,  333 
Holstein,  Duke  of,  404 
Hopkins,    Commander   of    Fleet, 

5i.  52,  177 

-  Capt.,  316 

Houdetot,  Comtesse  d',  67,  299 
Houdon,   M.,    180,  404 
Houge,  Baron  de  la,  343 
Howe,  Lord,  57 
Hurst,  Granville,  36 


422 


INDEX 


Jefferson,  Thos.,  38,  61,  108,  335, 

339.    34«.    342,    344,    345-    347, 

381,  389,   404 
Jeremiah,    Anthony,    240 
Johnson,  Capt.,   180 
Jones,  John    Paul,   9  et  seq. 
Joseph  II  (Austria),  396 

Kalb,  Baron  de,  71 

Kersaint,  Capt.  de,  40,  42,  341 

Kidd,  Capt.,    174 

Kilby,  John,  222,  225,  226 

Knox,  Gen.,  77 

Kosciusko,  394 

Kreuss,  359 

Krudener,  Baron,  348,  396 

-  Madame,  395 

Lafayette,    Marquis    de,    71,    72, 

73-    77.   78»    83,    99.    101,    134. 
214,    215,    224,    324,    344,    352, 

353,  4°2,  4°3,  406 

-  Mme.  dc,  102,  114 
Lamballe,  Princesse  de,  114,  117, 

118,  207,  418 

Lambesec,  Prince  de,  118 
Landais,    Pierre,    214,    216,    217, 
223,    224,    228,    230,    231,    233, 
248,    261,    271,    272,    274,    275, 
276,    277,    278,    305,    306,    307, 
308,   309,   310,  318,   319 
Langdon,  Gov.,  83 

-  Mary,  85,  86,  87 
Le  Bel,  102,  103 

Lee,  Arthur,  95,  120,  121,  122, 
123,  124,  130,  169,  170,  171, 
173,  204,  305,  306,  309,  310, 
318,  320,  321,  344 

Leopold  II,  396 

Ligne,  Prince  de,  355,  356,  375, 
376 

Linthwaite,  Midshipman,  241 

Littlepage,    Chevalier,    342,    345, 

375,  376,  392,  393 
Livingston,    Mme.,   335,   336 
Livingstone,    Philip,  43 
Livoncourt,  de,  278 
Lloyd's,  331 

Louis  Philippe,  284,  285,  334 
Louis  XIV,  41,  202,  330,  409 
Louis  XV,   102,  103,   105 
Louis  XVI,  105,  109,  164,  207,  208, 

2°9,  3r9«  335.  401 >  402,  416 


Lunt,    Sailing   Master,    225,    229, 

276,  318 
Luzerne,    Chevalier    de    la,    loo, 

322,   327 

Macadam,  Capt.,  24 
Macau  lay,   400 

Macbean,  Duncan,  32,  33,  59,  60 
Macduff,  Jean,  10,   n 
Mackenzie,   135 
Malesherbes,   100,  330 
Marcereau,  M.  de,   155,  282 
Marie  Antoinette,    100,    113,    114, 

227,  228,  396 
Marron,  P.  H.,  415 
Marsan,  Mme.  de,  102,  106,  108, 

114,  294,  299 

Martigne,   Chevalier  de,   326 
Maurepas,  Comte  de,    166,  311 
Mawey,  Stuart,  33 
Maxwell,  Gov.  of  Bahamas,  9,  176 

Mungo,  24,  25,  27,  382 

Mayrant,    John,    225,    240,    249, 

250,    255,    256,    276,    279,    280, 

281,  282,  337 

-  Josephine,  74 
Mease,  Purser,  241 
Mirabeau,  100,  330 
Montespan,  Mme.  de,  41 
Montmorin,    Comte,   391 
Mordwinoff,  Admiral,  361,  379 
Morgan,  174 

-  Gen.,  59 
Morlaix,  Comte  de,   189 

—  Comtesse,  189 

Morris,  Robert,  42,  56,  76,  77, 
90,  321,  324,  326,  413 

-  Gouverneur,    117,   403,   410, 
411,  413,  414 

Morton,  Countess  of,   145 

Napoleon,  114,  405 

Naraschkin,  359 

Nassau,  Prince  of,  25,  194,  342, 
36l«  363>  364.  365.  367.  368, 
369.  37°,  37 i.  372,  373,  374- 
375.  376,  379,  382,  388,  393 

Necker,   118 

Nelson,    Lord,    12,   405,   417 

Nesbitt,   144 

Neufville  &  Co.,  276 

Nolte,  Peter,  246 

North,  Lord,  204,  224 


INDEX 


423 


Orange,   Prince  of,  267 
Orleans,   Due  d',    100,    117,    118, 

I  19,    211,    398,    407 

Orloff,  Comte  d',  362 

Orvillers,    Comte'  d',     126,     143, 

157,    158,    161,    163,    165,    it>8, 

194,   195,  201,  272 
Ossory,  Lady,  398 

Paine,  Tom,  401,  402 

Parke,  Betty,  34 

Parker,   Lieut.,  36,  37 

Pasha,  Capt.,  367,  368,  369,  370, 

37'.  372,  373.  378 
Paul,  John,  9,   10,   u,   12 

-  William,  12 

-  Mary  Ann,   12 

-  Elizabeth,   12 

-  Janet,  12 

-  Jean,   13 

-  Archduke,    of    Russia,    388, 
404 

Pearson,  Capt.  Richard,  178,  237, 
245,  249,  250,  251,  252,  253, 
254.  259»  286,  311,  336 

Peck,  Mr.,  316 

Penthievre,  Due  de,   117 

-  Marie  Adelaide  de  Bourbon, 
40,    117 

Peter  the  Great,  365,  404 

Philippe,  408 

Pierce,  Augusta,  85 

Pindar,  316 

Pinkham,  Lieut.,  U.S.N.,   13 

—  American  Minister,  407 
Pocahontas,   174 
Poix,    Prince  de,   99 
Poland,  King  of,  376 
Pompadour,    Mme.    de,    102,    103, 

104,    105 
Potemkin,    Prince,    25,    113,    345, 

352,    353.    354.    355.    35^,    357. 

358>    363«    37 i.    374.    375.    376. 

377.    378.    379.    3«i.    387,    388, 

389,  4«3 
Potter,     Midshipman,     251,     253, 

27Q,  280,  337 

Powers,    Midshipman,    151,    156 
Prince  Royal  of  Denmark,  343 
Princess  Royal  of  Denmark,  343 

Randall,  Arthur,  245 
Repuin,   Prince  de,  375 
Revere,  Paul,  83 


Reynolds,  Sir  Joshua,  180 

Reynst,  de,  267 

Ribas,  Brigadier,  361,  366 

Riemersma,  267 

Rions,  d 'Albert,  341 

Roberdeau,    Capt.    de,    203,    228, 

229 

Rochefoucauld,  Due  de  la,  197 
Ross,  Mr.,  86 

Saltonstall,     Dudley,    Capt.,    50, 

65,  74.  76,  77.  78 
Samoilov,  Gen.,  375 
Sartine,  de,  194,  197,  198,  199, 

200,    201,    203,    204,    205,    208, 

209,    217,    224,    269,    271,    274, 

278,  312,  390 
Savoie,  Adelaide  de,  103 
Sayre,  S.,   173 

Schweighauser,  166,  168,  169 
Seavey,  Helen,  84,  85 
S6gur,  Comte  de,  342,  345,  355, 

357 »    382,    388,    391,    393,    397 
Selkirk,  Earl  of,  9,   137,  138,  139, 

140,    143,    144,    145,    146,    148, 

176,   181,   182,  298 
-  Countess,  35,  102,  137,  138, 

139,    142,    144,  '145,    177,  417 
Sergeant,   Nathan,    154,   155 
Simolin,    Baron,    339,    342,    345, 

348,  354.  3^0 
Simoneau,  414,  415 
Simpson,    Lieut.,    124,    125,    164, 

165,     170,     171,     172,     173,     iqi, 

2OI 

Smith,  Capt.  John,   174 
Starbuck,  O.,  153 
Stewart,  Archibald  &  Co.,  59 
Suwarrow,    Gen.    P.,     113,    363, 
364,  370,  406 

Taylor,  Mrs.  411,  416 

Telusson,  Aim£e  de,  102,  105, 

106,  107,  109,  no,  in,  1 12, 

113,  114,  288,  290,  293,  294, 

298,  300,  301,  302,  303,  304, 

3I2>    329»    337.    339.    397.    399, 

407,  411,  416,  418 
Thackeray,  189 
Theresa,  Maria,  396 
Thevenard,  de,  309 
Thompson,  David,  8r 
Thornton,    122,    124,    130 
Thouvenot,  Chevalier  de,  112,  294 


424 


INDEX 


Tiercelin,  de,  Mile.,   104 

-  M.  de,  104,  105 
Tooke,  358,  360,  397 
Tourzel,  Mme.  de,  117 

Van  der  Huyt,  106 

Vandhal,    Comtesse    de    la     106, 

179,    180,  294,  295,   302 
Van  Dyke,   Nicholas,  43 
Vaudreuil,   Marquis  de,   327,  400 
Vauguyon,  Due  de  la,    100,  265, 

267,  278 
Vergennes,  Comte  de,  311 

Wallingford,     Lieut.,     131,     132, 

'35.   I51'   J54 

Walpole,  Horace,  351,  398 
Washington,  George,  45,  73,  77, 

78,  83,  216,  305,  309,  319,  320, 

322,  324,  381,  394 


Wayne,  Anthony,  Gen.,  78,  320, 

321 

Weibert,  Col.,  230 
Weller,  "Sam,"  183 
Wells,  Jonathen,  134 
Wemyss,  Ladv,  398 
Wentworth,  Gov.,  83 
Whipple,   Capt.,  53/192 
Wilkes,  John,   173 
Wills,  Nathaniel,  151 
Wright,  J.  B.,  237 


Yorke,  Sir  Joseph    122,  261,  262, 

263,   264,   265,   267,   268,   333 
Young,  Gov.,  26 
Younger,  Mr.,  15,  22 


Zouboff,  388 


Richard  Clay  &-  Sons,  Ljuiited,  London  ana 


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